The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released data on the 8th showing that, due to rising energy costs and logistics disruptions caused by the conflict in the Middle East, the FAO Food Price Index rose for a third consecutive month in April.
According to Xinhua News Agency, data showed that the FAO Food Price Index reached 130.7 points in April, up 1.6% from the revised level in March and up 2.0% from a year earlier. Among them, the Cereal Price Index rose 0.8% month-on-month and 0.4% year-on-year.
The FAO analyzed that, due to the impact of the Middle East conflict, farmers tend to shift to crops that require less fertilizer, leading to a reduction in wheat planting area by 2026, which will further push up wheat prices. This month, the FAO slightly lowered the global wheat output forecast for 2026, estimating that this year's output would fall by about 2% compared with last year.
In addition, the FAO also released its regular monthly market monitoring report on the same day, highlighting that the ongoing "blockage" of the Strait of Hormuz continues to disrupt fertilizer supplies, pushing up urea and phosphate prices and further weakening fertilizer affordability, thereby increasing short-term agricultural production risks.