Input Markets

The FAO Food Price Index remained stable in March, with falling cereal and sugar prices balancing rising meat and vegetable oil prices. The Index was almost 7 percent higher than its March 2024 level but still remains significantly below March 2022 levels.

Fertilizer prices experienced a significant surge in 2021, driven by the post-COVID 19 global economic recovery. Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine propelled prices even higher. Broad economic sanctions on key fertilizer exporters Russia and Belarus exempted agricultural products but triggered further economic disruptions. Overall, the conflict heightened market uncertainties regarding the availability of potash, phosphate, and nitrogen-based fertilizers in international trade.

Fertilizer use plays an important role in increasing agricultural production and ensuring food availability and economic accessibility: two critical components of overall food security. When global fertilizer prices skyrocketed in 2021-2022, those spikes brought with them concerns about drastically reduced fertilizer application and subsequent negative impacts on food production, prices, and food security.

The FAO Food Price Index rose 2 percent in October to reach its highest level since April 2023. However, the Index remained 20.5 percent below the record high seen in March 2022.

The FAO Food Price Index declined slightly in August due to falling sugar, meat, and cereal prices. The Index was just over 1 percent lower than its August 2023 value and nearly 25 percent below the peak reached in March 2022.