Global food prices are set to climb faster into 2027

FAO Food Price Index, September

136 points

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization's food price index averaged 136 points in September, its highest reading since November 2022.

What is squeezing supplies

• Attacks on Black Sea grain infrastructure
• Ships rerouted away from the Red Sea
• Fuel and fertilizer costs from the Iran war
• El Niño drought in India and Southeast Asia

Attacks on Black Sea grain infrastructure, Red Sea shipping detours, the war on Iran and El Niño drought are squeezing supplies.

Wheat prices in 2026

30 % rise, and still climbing

Wheat prices are up more than 30 per cent in 2026, and rice prices in key Asian exporting countries have risen 10 to 13 per cent.

We will see a bigger impact towards the end of the year, at the beginning of next year and potentially throughout next year.

— Maximo Torero, FAO chief economist