Global food prices hit an 18-month high in October, the UN said via Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) – Global food prices rose in October to an 18-month high as vegetable oil prices rose sharply in staple foods, United Nations data said on Friday.

The price index compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) to track the world’s most traded food rose to 127.4 points last month, up 2% from a revised 124.9 points in September.

That increased the index by 5.5% from a year ago and marked the highest since April 2023, although it was 20.5% below the record from March 2022 reached after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the data showed.

Prices for all categories rose except for meat, with vegetable oils jumping more than 7% from last month, supported by concerns over palm oil production, the FAO said.

The overall index extended gains from September when it hit its highest since July 2023 due to rising sugar prices.

Continued concerns about Brazil’s 2024/25 production outlook supported a moderate increase in sugar prices in October when they rose 2.6%, FAO said.

Grain prices rose 0.8% from September.

Wheat rose amid concerns about growing conditions in the northern hemisphere and following the introduction of Russia’s illegal export quota, while maize was also higher, the FAO said.

Milk prices rose about 2%, supported by cheese and butter, both of which faced strong demand and limited supply, the agency said.

The overall price of meat decreased by 0.3%. Pork saw a very sharp decline while poultry marked the bottom, unlike beef which rose after the rise in international demand.

In a separate food grain report, FAO cut its forecast for global grain production in 2024 to 2.848 billion metric tons from 2.853 billion metric tons forecast last month.

The revision left the expected result down 0.4% from last year but remained the second largest on record.