The global food prices saw their fastest rise in over a year, with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reporting a three-percent increase in the FAO Food Price Index for September, reaching 124.4 points in a significant development.
This uptick, the highest since March 2022, is primarily attributed to a surge in sugar prices, which soared by 10.4 percent due to adverse weather conditions in Brazil.
The FAO noted that prolonged dry spells and destructive fires in late August severely impacted Brazilian sugarcane crops, exacerbating the global supply situation. Concerns regarding the availability of Indian sugar exports further complicated matters, particularly after the Indian government lifted restrictions on the use of sugarcane for ethanol production.
In addition to sugar, other commodities also saw price hikes, with vegetable oil prices climbing 4.6 percent and the cereal index increasing by three percent. Despite this recent surge, the overall food price index remains 22.4 percent lower than its peak following the geopolitical turmoil triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
