FAO World Food Price Index Hits Highest Level in More Than Three Years in July

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday, August 7, 2026 (16 Mordad 1405), that its World Food Price Index averaged 131.1 points in July, up from 130.3 in June and the highest reading since January 2023. According to Daily Sabah, the FAO attributed the rise to a combination of adverse weather and escalating war in the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea.

The FAO's cereal price index rose 3.4 percent month over month, driven mainly by a 5.8 percent jump in wheat prices amid concerns over Black Sea export disruptions and heat damage to crops. The vegetable oil index rose 2 percent to its highest level since June 2022, while sugar prices climbed 5.6 percent. Meat prices, by contrast, fell 2.8 percent from June's record high. The current index level remains 18.2 percent below its March 2022 peak, which followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine.