World food prices rose in August to their highest since late 2022, as adverse weather and war disruption in the Black Sea heightened concern over the supply of staples, the United Nations' food agency said Friday.
Extreme heat and drought in Europe, the threat of a severe El Nino weather pattern and trade upheaval caused by the Ukraine and Iran wars have unsettled agricultural markets, pushing grain prices to three-year highs and sugar to a one-year peak.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 133.3 points in August, up from July's revised reading of 130.8.
That was the highest score since November 2022, though nearly 17% below a record peak from March 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"August's increase in global food prices is a warning that the risk premium is returning to food markets: climate shocks, geopolitical tensions and disrupted trade logistics are converging to tighten supply expectations," FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said in a statement.
