World Food Prices have risen to their highest level since November 2022, as supply risks mount.

World food prices rose again rose last month. Adverse weather and war-related disruptions in the Black Sea heightened concerns over the supply of key agricultural commodities. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have intensified drone and missile strikes against commercial vessels, tankers, and port infrastructure.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Food Price Index averaged 133.3 points in August, up from a revised 130.8 in July, although it remained nearly 17% below the record high reached in March 2022. Extreme heat and drought in Europe, the threat of a severe El Niño weather pattern and trade disruptions from the Ukraine and Iran wars, have unsettled agricultural markets, pushing grain prices to three-year highs and sugar prices to a one-year high. 

Prices increased across all five major food categories tracked by the FAO – cereals, vegetable oils, sugar, meat and dairy. Extreme weather in Europe affected prospects for maize, sugar beet and livestock output, while the anticipated El Niño raised concerns over palm oil and sugar production in Asia. At the same time, escalating attacks in the Black Sea curtailed grain shipments from Russia and Ukraine, while the US-Iran conflict strained fertiliser flows. 

The cereals price index consequently rose 2.2% month-over-month to its highest level since May 2024, while vegetable oil prices reached their highest level since June 2022. Sugar prices recorded the sharpest increase, rising 11.9% to their highest level since June 2025, also reflecting lower production in Brazil’s key centre-south region.