Overview
- The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said in its Sept. 4 monthly report that its Food Price Index averaged 133.3 points for August, the highest reading since late 2022.
- Every commodity group tracked by the FAO rose in August, with sugar jumping about 11.9 percent and wheat up roughly 15 percent year on year while the Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index climbed more than 13 percent in August.
- Renewed Russian strikes on Black Sea shipping have sharply reduced Ukrainian grain shipments and discouraged vessels from calling at ports, cutting export flows and lifting grain prices.
- Closure and insecurity around the Strait of Hormuz have limited fertilizer shipments and pushed up input and shipping costs, contributing to tighter market expectations for maize and other crops.
- The FAO trimmed its 2026 global cereal forecast by 3.4 million tonnes to 2.980 billion tonnes and UN agencies warn a likely El Niño could deepen crop losses and push tens of millions more into acute hunger while governments begin targeted farm support.