Global food prices climbed to a four-year high in September, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said, as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea combined with climate shocks to pressure energy, transport and key commodities.
The FAO Food Price Index averaged 136.0 points in September, up from a revised 134.0 in August — the highest reading since November 2022. Chief Economist Maximo Torero blamed 'a persistent and increasingly broad-based build up in global commodity prices,' Reuters reported.
Sugar prices jumped 6.1 per cent month-on-month, their third straight monthly increase, reaching an 18-month high on El Niño fears and adverse weather in major production zones. Cereal prices rose 5.1 per cent, with a war-related collapse in Black Sea trade pushing wheat futures to a three-year peak and reduced U.S. corn yield prospects adding pressure. Vegetable oil edged up 0.9 per cent, while the meat index eased 1.1 per cent on lower poultry prices.
The FAO warned the pressure will soon pass through to consumer food prices, especially in countries dependent on food and energy imports. It kept its 2026 global cereal production forecast at 2.979 billion metric tons but trimmed the 2026/27 trade forecast by 0.7 per cent on weaker Black Sea exports.
