Global food prices reached their highest levels this March due to the Russia- Ukraine war, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced Friday.
The soaring in prices was noted the most in staple grains and vegetable oil markets, FAO added.
The FAO food price index tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of commonly-traded food commodities, and had already beaten its record in February. The index recorded a new spike of 12.6% in March, said the UN organization in its press release.
This increase is mainly attributable, according to the FAO, to the cereal price index, which “recorded an increase of 17.1% compared to February, driven by strong increases in the prices of wheat and all grains, mainly due to the crisis between the neighboring countries, added the same source.
Food prices are also being driven up by vegetable oils, whose FAO index “jumped 23.2%, driven by higher prices for sunflower oil, of which Ukraine is the world’s largest exporter.
FAO further stated that Russia and Ukraine, combined, accounted for around 30% and 20% of global wheat and maize exports, respectively, over the past three years.
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