FAO: Global food prices hit 18-month high in October

Global food prices rose to their highest level in 18 months in October, with vegetable oils leading the gains for most staple foods, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) showed today.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks the prices of the world’s most traded food commodities, rose 2 percent to 127.4 points last month from a revised 124.9 points in September.

The index rose 5.5 percent from a year ago and reached its highest level since April 2023, although it was 20.5 percent below the record high hit in March 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the data showed.