Paris: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced that global prices of essential food commodities rose in July to their highest level in more than two years.

The increase was driven by surging prices of vegetable oils and record-high meat prices, which outweighed declines in grains, dairy, and sugar.

In its report released on Friday, FAO stated that its Food Price Index, the global benchmark for tracking food commodity prices, reached 130.1 points in July 2025, marking a 1.6% increase from June.

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This is the highest reading since February 2023, although still 18.8% below its peak in March 2022 following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The organization noted that the gains in meat and vegetable oil prices in July offset notable declines in grain, dairy, and sugar prices.

Grain prices fell by 3.0% month-on-month, attributed to improved production forecasts in key exporting countries such as Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

Corn export prices also dropped amid expectations of increased output in Argentina and Brazil. Meanwhile, dairy prices rose by 1.2%, and the sugar index increased by 1.9%, partly due to weaker-than-expected harvest results in Brazil during May, according to FAO.

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