Yahoo Finance World food prices hit record high on impact from Ukraine war
World food prices jumped nearly 13% in March to a new record high after the war in Ukraine hit the supply of grains and vegetable oils.
The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) food price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, surged by 12.6% last month, "making a giant leap to a new highest level since its inception in 1990", the UN agency said.
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The index monitors price fluctuations of the most-traded food commodities like wheat and sunflower oil. Wheat prices rose by almost 20% while vegetable oil surged by 23.2%
Cereal prices rose 19.7% in March, also to a record high.
“This month’s increase reflected a surge in world prices of wheat and coarse grains, largely driven by conflict-related export disruptions from Ukraine and, to a lesser extent, the Russian Federation. The expected loss of exports from the Black Sea region exacerbated the already tight global availability of wheat.
"With concerns over crop conditions in the United States of America also adding support, world wheat prices rose sharply in March, soaring by 19.7%,” the report said.
Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of wheat, corn, barley and sunflower oil via the Black Sea, and Moscow's six-week-old invasion of its neighbour has stalled Ukrainian exports.
“The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is heightening concerns about the impact on food security worldwide,” said Beth Bechdol, deputy director-general of the FAO. “We are witnessing food price increases across the board.”
Sugar and dairy prices also rose sharply last month, the FAO said.
The Ukraine conflict also contributed to record meat prices last month, which rose by 4.8%.
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“In March, pig meat prices registered the steepest monthly increase on record since 1995, underpinned by supply shortfalls of slaughter pigs in Western Europe and a surge in internal demand in light of the upcoming Easter holidays,” FAO said.
“International poultry meat prices firmed, fuelled by reduced supplies from leading exporting countries following avian flu outbreaks, further impacted by Ukraine’s inability to export poultry meat amid the ongoing conflict.”
The UN children's agency (Unicef) warned has warned that rising food prices brought about by Russia's invasion of Ukraine are increasing the risk of malnutrition for millions of children in the Middle East and North Africa.
