8 May 2026, Rome - The International Food Price Index rose for a third straight month in April, driven by high energy costs and supply disruptions triggered by conflict in the Middle East, according to a new report released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The FAO Food Price Index is a measure of monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of food commodities. In April 2026, the FAO Food Price Index averaged 130.7 points, up 1.6 percent from the revised March figure and 2.0 percent year-on-year.

The FAO Cereal Price Index rose 0.8 percent in April from a month earlier, slightly up 0.4 percent from a year earlier. With the exception of sorghum and barley, most major grain prices were higher. Global wheat prices rose 0.8 per cent, driven by drought in parts of the United States and expectations that rainfall in Australia could fall below annual levels. In addition, high energy costs and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted supply chains, driving up fertilizer prices and prompting farmers to switch to less fertilizer-intensive crops. The market expects a contraction in wheat sowing area in 2026, which will provide further support for wheat prices.

FAO chief economist Maximo Torrero said:“Despite the supply disruption caused by the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, the global agricultural food system has shown strong resilience. Grain prices have seen only a modest increase so far, thanks to relatively abundant inventories in previous seasons. However, the increase in vegetable oil prices was more pronounced as higher oil prices pushed up demand for biofuels, putting additional pressure on the vegetable oil market.”

International corn prices rose 0.7 percent from a month earlier due to seasonal supply constraints, weather uncertainty in Brazil and drought during the sowing season in parts of the United States. At the same time, strong demand for ethanol driven by high crude oil prices, coupled with continued concerns about fertilizer affordability, are also putting upward pressure on corn prices. In contrast, global sorghum prices fell by 4.0%, mainly due to weaker global import demand and improved outlook for production from key exporting countries.

The FAO Rice Price Index rose 1.9 per cent in April, driven largely by higher prices for maize and sweet rice, reflecting the higher production and marketing costs faced by most exporting countries as a result of soaring prices for crude oil and its derivatives.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index rose 5.9 percent in April from a month earlier, rising to its highest level since July 2022. The price of palm oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil and canola oil rose across the board, driving the index to continue climbing. Among them, international palm oil prices rose for the fifth consecutive month, mainly supported by enhanced demand expectations in the biofuel sector (stimulus policies in several producer countries, coupled with continued higher crude oil prices); In addition, the market's concern about seasonal production cuts in Southeast Asia in the coming months also pushed up prices further.

The FAO Meat Price Index rose 1.2% in April from a month earlier and 6.4% year-on-year, hitting a record high. Beef prices continued to climb, mainly due to a limited supply of available cattle on Brazilian pastures, which pushed up export quotes. Pork prices have also risen this month, with higher seasonal demand in the European Union leading to stronger quotations, but plentiful supply in Brazil has partially eased the price increase.

The FAO Dairy Price Index fell 1.1% in April from a month earlier, with international quotations for butter and cheese falling, mainly due to abundant EU milk supplies and higher-than-expected end-of-season production in Oceania.

The FAO Sugar Price Index fell 4.7 percent in April from a month earlier, a sharp drop of 21.2 percent from a year earlier. The April decline was largely driven by expectations of abundant global supply this quarter, especially a positive outlook for output from major Asian producers such as China and Thailand. Brazil, the world's largest sugar producer, began a new season of harvest, further driving down international sugar prices.

Grain markets are well supplied, but uncertainty remains

Also on Friday, the FAO raised its forecast for 2025 major cereal production, with an updated forecast of 3.04 billion tonnes, up 6.0 per cent from the previous year, further reinforcing expectations that the overall supply situation will be good in 2025 / 26.

For the 2026 crop, however, FAO this month slightly downgraded its latest forecast for global wheat production to 817 million tonnes, down about 2 percent from the previous year but still above the average for the past five years. For now, the forecast faces uncertainty: the actual closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed up the cost of inputs such as energy and fertilizer, while wheat prices have been relatively weak.

Update of the Agricultural Market Information System

The FAO's Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) released its monthly Market Monitoring Report on the same day, highlighting that the global agricultural market faced a new round of pressure in April. The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to disrupt global fertilizer supplies, pushing up prices for urea and phosphate, further weakening fertilizer access and posing greater risks to future agricultural production.