What's New

Food systems around the world face growing challenges. They must be transformed to sustainably feed a growing global population and made more resilient to shocks from extreme weather to conflict. Efforts on those fronts are increasingly interlinked—and depend on well-targeted local interventions.

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.

First in a blog series examining the potential consequences of the newly proposed U.S. tariffs for global agrifood trade.

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.

Rising vegetable oil, cereal, sugar, and dairy prices drove the FAO Food Price Index up by 1.6 percent in February. However, overall prices remain almost 21 percent lower than the peak seen in March 2022.