Food Prices

The FAO Food Price Index continued to rise in September, driven by increasing cereal and vegetable oil prices. The Index was up 1.2 percent from August 2021 and 32.8 percent from September 2020.

After declining in June and July, the FAO Food Price Index rose quickly again in August and reached 32.9 percent higher than August 2020 levels. The increase was driven by rising cereal and vegetable oil prices, as well as by rises in sugar prices.

Ten years after the launch of AMIS and the Food Security Portal’s Excessive Price Variability Early Warning System, managing and reducing food price volatility remains a clear priority for global food security.

As reported earlier this month, global wheat prices declined slightly in June after 12 straight months of increases. The recent decline was based on favorable production prospects in several major producing regions, including Europe, India, and the Black Sea region. Wheat futures prices followed suit, dropping by 6 percent in June.

Global food prices are on the rise. FAO’s Food Price Index indicates prices in international markets have risen by 40 percent from a year ago (May 2020). Prices of vegetable oils in particular have surged, showing an increase by almost 110 percent over the past year. Other commodity prices, like those for metals, oil, and other minerals prices also have shown sustained increases since mid-2020.

How concerned should we be?

The FAO Food Price Index continued to surge in May, rising 4.8 percent from the previous month. Prices are now 38.9 percent higher than May 2020 and the highest seen since September 2011. This twelfth consecutive month of increases also brings the Index just 7.6 percent below the record highs of February 2011.