Symbolic imageFood prices remain at a three-year high, and the drivers are strengthening: Copernicus reports the world's seas outside the polar regions had their hottest July on record, with El Niño conditions in the tropical Pacific expected to intensify in the coming months.
The FAO's monthly index tracks world market prices for cereals, vegetable oils, dairy, meat and sugar, and is the standard gauge of what food costs on world markets. It matters most for import-dependent countries and poorer households, whose budgets follow it directly. Weather extremes, the war in Ukraine and tension in the Gulf have kept it under pressure.
The world's seas outside the polar regions were hotter last month than in any July on record, the EU's Copernicus service said on Monday. Scientists link part of the spike to a strengthening El Niño.
Climate scientists told The Guardian that the El Niño now building is expected to intensify in autumn and winter and to persist until early spring 2027. They warn of a wet winter and flooding in the western United States.
The UN food price index rose in July to 131.1 points, its highest reading in more than three years, the FAO said on Friday. Heatwaves, the war in Ukraine and escalation in the Gulf lifted cereal, sugar and vegetable oil costs.