Global Food Prices Rise 1.5% as Wheat, Corn and Sugar Surge

Global food commodity prices rose sharply in September, with wheat, maize and sugar doing most of the work. The move matters because these raw materials sit near the start of supply chains for bread, animal feed, sweetened foods, biofuels and many processed products.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said its Food Price Index averaged 136.0 points in September 2026, up 1.5% from August and 5.8% from a year earlier. The index remained 15.1% below its March 2022 peak, so the latest rise is significant without yet matching the extreme shock seen four years ago.

The September numbers

The broad index gained 2.0 points in one month. Cereals rose fastest among the major staple groups after sugar:

• Cereals: 122.8 points, up 5.1% from August and 17.2% from September 2025.

• Sugar: 114.0 points, up 6.1% in one month and 14.7% from a year earlier.

• Vegetable oils: 198.6 points, up 0.9% from August and 18.3% year on year.

• Meat: 127.9 points, down 1.1% from August and roughly unchanged from a year earlier.

• Dairy: 119.1 points, down 0.1% from August and 19.1% below its year-earlier level.

That split is important. The global food-price story is not a uniform increase across everything people eat. Crop-based commodities rose, while meat and dairy softened or held steady.

Why wheat and maize moved higher

World wheat prices increased 6.3% from August to their highest level since August 2023. FAO linked the rise mainly to logistical constraints in the Black Sea, which pushed importers toward alternative suppliers. Dry conditions in parts of North America before winter-wheat planting added another layer of concern.

Maize prices climbed 5.6% to their highest level in more than three years. Lower-than-expected U.S. yields, reduced export availability from Brazil and Black Sea trade disruptions all tightened the market outlook.

The pressure was not limited to wheat and maize. Sorghum rose 13.7% and barley increased 3.9%. FAO also reported a 1.4% rise in its rice index as weather concerns and seasonally tighter supplies lifted Indica rice quotations.

For livestock producers and food manufacturers, higher feed-grain prices can raise costs before consumers see any change on shop shelves. The size and timing of that pass-through depend on contracts, exchange rates, energy bills, inventories and competition in each market.

Sugar rose fastest

Sugar prices jumped 6.1% in September, reaching their highest level since April 2025. FAO pointed to a tighter 2026/27 supply outlook across several major producing regions.

In the European Union, lower planted area and difficult growing weather are expected to reduce sugar-beet output. FAO also cited lower production forecasts for Thailand, concern about India's crop amid below-normal rainfall and strengthening El Niño conditions, and heavy rain that slowed harvesting in Brazil's Centre-South region.

Because Brazil, India, Thailand and the European Union all matter to world sugar supply, problems across several origins at once can affect refiners and industrial buyers well beyond those countries.

Palm oil adds pressure, sunflower oil offers relief

The vegetable-oil index rose for the month as palm oil prices increased for a fourth consecutive month. Strong import demand and dry-weather concerns in Southeast Asia supported palm values.

Sunflower oil moved in the opposite direction for a third month as buyers expected ample Black Sea supplies. However, disrupted logistics and limited capacity on alternative export routes prevented a larger decline. Soy and rapeseed oil prices were broadly stable.

Meat and dairy did not follow the crop surge

Poultry and pig-meat quotations fell as export supplies remained ample. FAO said weaker European Union poultry demand following new antimicrobial-related import rules also weighed on international prices. Bovine and sheep-meat prices were broadly stable.

Dairy prices were nearly flat. Milk-powder quotations rose on Asian demand and limited prompt availability, while cheese prices fell under pressure from strong U.S. export supplies and weaker European demand. Butter changed little overall.

What the index does — and does not — say

The FAO Food Price Index tracks monthly movements in international commodity prices. It is weighted using the export shares of five food groups: cereals, vegetable oils, dairy, meat and sugar.

It is not a direct forecast of grocery bills. Retail prices also include processing, packaging, transport, wages, taxes and supermarket margins. Still, a sustained rise in grain, sugar and oil costs can become an early warning for import bills, food manufacturers and countries that depend heavily on imported staples.

The next FAO Food Price Index release is scheduled for 6 November 2026. That update will show whether September's crop-led increase continued or began to ease.

Source and methodology

This article is based on FAO's Food Price Index release dated 2 October 2026. Agrilinkage calculated no independent index values; all monthly and annual percentage changes reported above are FAO figures.