UN: Food price index to hit new high due to disruptions from Ukraine
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The Food Price Index reaches an all-time high because of export disruptions from Ukraine and Russia.
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Vegetable oil prices increase by more than 23% from February to March
The Food Price Index reached an all-time high in March because of disruptions in exports from Ukraine and Russia, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday.
FAO's Food Price Index was up 12.6% from February, averaging 159.3 points in March, marking its highest level since the organization began in 1990.
The surge in prices was due to the global rise in prices of wheat and coarse grains, driven by export disruptions from Ukraine and Russia (to a lesser extent).
The highest registered rise was marked in vegetable oils, which were up more than 23% from February to March, also due to the war in Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine account for more than 70% of sunflower seed production.
The price of sugar also rose more than 20% from March 2021 due to the increase in global crude oil prices, thereby increasing expectations of sugarcane use for ethanol production in Brazil.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
