World food prices rose in August to their highest since late 2022, as adverse weather and war disruption in the Gulf and Black Sea heightened concern over supply of staples, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.

Extreme heat and drought in Europe, the threat of a severe El Niño weather pattern and trade upheaval caused by the Ukraine and Iran wars have unsettled agricultural markets, pushing grain prices to three-year highs and sugar to a one-year peak.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 133.3 points in August, up from July’s revised reading of 130.8.

That was the highest score since November 2022, though nearly 17% below a record peak from March 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“August’s increase in global food prices is a warning that the risk premium is returning to food markets: climate shocks, geopolitical tensions and disrupted trade logistics are converging to tighten supply expectations,” FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said in a statement.

The FAO’s price benchmarks for cereals, vegetable oils, sugar, meat and dairy all rose in August.

The extreme weather in Europe affected prospects for the maize and sugar beet harvests as well as livestock output, while the anticipated El Niño phenomenon fuelled concerns for vegetable oil and sugar output, it said.

Escalating attacks in the Black Sea have curtailed grain shipments from Russia and Ukraine in their four-and-a-half-year-old war, while the US-Israeli war on Iran was still straining flows of fertiliser for crops.

In a separate report, the agency cut its 2026 global cereal production forecast by 3.4 million metric tons from July to 2.980 billion tons, now 2.0% below 2025, though still the second-largest harvest on record.

France to give more than €1bn of aid for weather-hit farmers

France has announced more than €1bn in aid for farmers after record heatwaves and drought caused major damage to crops, pastures and water supplies.

The support comes as French the government is working on a politically perilous budget for next year, with Paris seeking to keep the deficit under control ahead of a 2027 presidential election.

“€1bn represents a massive effort given the current budgetary context,” Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard told reporters.

About half of the package, at €520m, will be used to provide rapid payments after weather damage, she said.

The aid plan also creates a local recovery fund to help farms buy seeds, plant and animal feed after droughts have left farmland parched.

Further measures include land-tax relief, help with social-security payments and fuel subsidy.

France’s main farmers’ union, the FNSEA, said agricultural production losses this summer would surpass €10bn, with more than €5bn already estimated for both livestock and crop sectors.

Another heatwave is expected this week in the European Union’s largest farm producer.