Global food prices saw their largest increase in 18 months in September, mainly due to a sharp rise in sugar prices, as reported by the United Nations food agency on Friday.
The price index, monitored by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to monitor the most traded food commodities globally, climbed to 124.4 points last month from 120.7 in August, marking the highest level since July 2023, and an increase of 2.1% compared to the previous year.
The sugar index spiked by 10.4% month-on-month, driven by declining crop expectations in Brazil and concerns regarding India’s decision to lift restrictions on sugarcane usage for ethanol production, impacting export availability, according to FAO.
The cereal price index saw a 3% increase, primarily led by higher wheat and maize export prices, while rice prices saw a 0.7% decrease.
Vegetable oil prices rose by 4.6% during the month, with increased quotations noted across various types of oils like palm, soy, sunflower, and rapeseed.
In September, dairy prices climbed by 3.8%, with higher quotations seen for whole milk powder, skim milk powder, butter, and cheese, while meat prices experienced a 0.4% increase.
In a separate update, FAO slightly raised its prediction for global cereal production in 2024, foreseeing a total of 2.853 billion tons compared to the previous estimate of 2.851 billion tons.
This adjustment was driven by upward revisions in rice and wheat outputs, outweighing a slight decrease in global coarse grains production, FAO mentioned.
World cereal utilization was expected to rise by 12.4 million tons in 2024/25 to reach 2.853 billion tons. On the other hand, the agency reduced its estimate for world cereal stocks at the end of the 2025 season by 1.7 million tons to 888.1 million.
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Emil Kovács graduated from the Journalism program at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. During his journalism studies, he focused on data journalism, investigative reporting, and multimedia storytelling. He gained experience by writing for the university’s student newspaper, where he gained attention for his articles on social issues. After graduation, Emil began working as a reporter at a European news agency, where he conducts in-depth analyses of international news and current events.
