A monthly index of world food prices (2014–16 = 100) and five groups: cereals, oils, meat, dairy, sugar.The FAO Food Price Index is a monthly measure of the international prices of a basket of food commodities, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It tracks five commodity groups — cereals, vegetable oils, meat, dairy, and sugar — and expresses their combined price level relative to a base period of 2014–2016, which is set to 100. A value above 100 means prices are higher on average than in that base period; below 100 means lower.
The index was introduced by the FAO in the 1990s, with the current 2014–2016 base period adopted in 2016 to reflect more recent trade patterns.
The index is computed as a weighted average of price sub-indices for each commodity group. Each sub-index is itself based on the prices of representative products (e.g., wheat and rice for cereals) quoted on major international markets. The weights reflect the average trade value of each group, so the index captures how much the overall cost of globally traded food has changed, giving a snapshot of market trends and inflationary pressure in food.
Policymakers, economists, and humanitarian agencies monitor it to anticipate food crises, adjust import strategies, and evaluate the impact of price shocks on vulnerable populations.
The index spiked to an all-time high in March 2022 following the onset of the war in Ukraine, which disrupted exports of wheat and sunflower oil.
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