Global food prices rose in September to their highest level in nearly four years, driven by a sharp jump in cereals and sugar, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 136.0 points, up 1.5 percent from August and the highest since November 2022. It was 5.8 percent above the level a year earlier.

The cereals index climbed 5.1 percent in the month and stood 17.2 percent higher than last year, as wheat and maize prices rose on tighter supplies. Sugar gained 6.1 percent to an 18-month high after El Nino-linked dryness cut output in Southeast Asia. Vegetable oil prices inched up 0.9 percent, while meat and dairy prices fell.

FAO chief economist Maximo Torero said the world faced “a tightening food supply situation,” citing disruption in key sea lanes, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea. The agency forecast record cereal output of 2.979 billion tonnes in 2026. Despite the rise, the overall index remains about 13 percent below its March 2022 peak.