Global food prices hit three-year high as heatwaves and conflict push up cost of crops – business live

Newsflash: Global food commodity prics have hit a three-year high, as the Ukraine war, conflict in the Middle East and extremely hot weather push up crop prices.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index , which tracks key food prices, has just risen to its highest since January 2023.

The FAO reports that prices for cereals, sugar and vegetable oils all rose in July, while meat and dairy product prices fell.

The report shows that global wheat prices surged by 5.8% in July, and were almost 10% higher than a year ago.

The FAO says this was due to “continued disruptions to Black Sea export flows and damage to export infrastructure, further compounded by the impact of recent heatwaves on crop yields in several key producing countries.”

There was a surge in attacks in the Black Sea last month, amid the renewed military escalation between Russia and Ukraine.

World maize prices rose by 3.6% , “supported by concerns over hot and dry weather in parts of the Corn Belt in the United States of America and spillover effects from firmer energy markets amid heightened geopolitical tensions.”

double quotation mark International sorghum prices edged higher in line with the increases in maize prices in the United States of America. By contrast, barley prices fell by 1.9 percent, as favourable crop prospects in Australia and the Black Sea region more than offset heat-related yield losses in the European Union.

On the other hand, the FAO All Rice Price Index held broadly steady in July 2026, as a mild increase in Indica quotations was offset by demand-driven price declines for all other major traded rice varieties.

This helped to push the FAO Food Price Index up to 131.1 points in July, a rise of up 0.7 points.