War drives large increases in international prices for wheat, maize and vegetable oils

Rome, Italy – World food commodity prices made a significant leap in March to reach their highest levels ever, as the war in the Black Sea region spread shocks through markets for staple grains and vegetable oils, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported today.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 159.3 points in March, up 12.6 percent from February when it had already reached its highest level since its inception in 1990. The Index tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of commonly-traded food commodities.

The latest level of the index was 33.6 percent higher than in March 2021.

The FAO Cereal Price Index was 17.1 percent higher in March than in February, driven by large rises in wheat and all coarse grain prices largely as a result of the war in Ukraine.

The Russian Federation and Ukraine, combined, accounted for around 30 percent and 20 percent of global wheat and maize exports respectively, over the past three years. World wheat prices soared by 19.7 percent during the month, exacerbated by concerns over crop conditions in the United States of America. Meanwhile, maize prices posted a 19.1 percent month-on-month increase, hitting a record high along with those of barley and sorghum.

Contrasting trends across the various origins and qualities kept the March value of FAO’s Rice Price Index little changed from February, and thus still 10 percent below its level of a year earlier.