Global food prices climbed to their highest level in more than three years as the Iran war disrupted supply chains, raising the prospect of larger bills for shoppers.
The United Nations’ index of food-commodity prices gained 1.6% in April from the previous month, led higher by vegetable oils, meat and cereals, according to a Friday report from the Food and Agriculture Organization. That’s 2.5% higher than a year ago.
The Iran war, now in its 10th week, has effectively shut the critical Strait of Hormuz, pinching flows of essential farm inputs such as diesel and fertilizer and boosting prices. That threatens to curb farmers’ production, eventually filtering down to food costs.
“The agri-food industry is resilient for now because they are selling what they already produced,” FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero said in an interview. “But this will change very quickly as commodity and energy costs are transmitted and then we will feel it as consumers.”
