Market Structure

Rising vegetable oil, cereal, sugar, and dairy prices drove the FAO Food Price Index up by 1.6 percent in February. However, overall prices remain almost 21 percent lower than the peak seen in March 2022.

With new U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico now in effect, what are the potential impacts on trade among those countries and across the Western Hemisphere?

In 2024, the FAO Food Price Index was 2.1 percent lower than its 2023 average. While the December 2024 Index was higher than its December 2023 value, it also remained well below the peak prices seen in March 2022.

According to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) Mid-Year Update, the number of people facing or expected to face IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe/Famine) food insecurity more than doubled from 2023 to 2024: from just over 700,000 people to 1.9 million people in four countries/territories. This is the highest number ever recorded by GRFC reporting.

During 2021 and 2022, global food and fertilizer prices spiked due to several overlapping factors. Demand rose as the world economy emerged from the COVID-19 recession; global supply chains suffered major disruptions associated with the uneven recovery; and the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine—both key food and fertilizer producers—generated yet another shock.