FAO September 2026: food prices at a near four-year high, while poultry prices ease

FAO's benchmark food price index rose to 136.0 points in September 2026 — the highest since November 2022 — but its meat index fell 1.1 percent as poultry and pig meat prices eased on abundant exportable supplies.

FAO published its monthly Food Price Index on 2 October 2026. The index, which tracks international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 136.0 points in September, up 1.5 percent from August and 5.8 percent higher than a year earlier — the highest reading since November 2022. The rise was driven by the crop-based groups: the cereal index gained 5.1 percent from August, sugar rose 6.1 percent and vegetable oils 0.9 percent.

The FAO Meat Price Index moved in the opposite direction, declining 1.1 percent from its revised August level. FAO attributes the fall to lower pig and poultry meat prices amid abundant exportable supplies. Beef quotations from Brazil increased on stronger import demand from the United States, while ovine meat prices were largely stable. For buyers in the Gulf and Africa, softer poultry quotations at origin point to a relatively comfortable supply picture going into the fourth quarter.

• FAO Food Price Index: 136.0 points in September 2026, up 1.5 percent month-on-month and 5.8 percent year-on-year — the highest since November 2022.
• FAO Meat Price Index: down 1.1 percent from August, with poultry and pig meat prices falling on ample exportable supplies; Brazilian beef quotations rose.
• Freight, not availability, is the pressure point: FAO’s Chief Economist highlighted disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea as adding pressure to energy, transport and key food commodities. The FAO-hosted AMIS Market Monitor notes elevated freight rates, firmer fertiliser markets and continued logistical disruption.
• What it means for importers: product quotations are easing while the transport component is firming, so routing and freight now weigh more heavily on landed cost than the FOB price alone.

The practical consequence for Gulf and African buyers is that supply is not the constraint — scheduling is. With routing volatility on key corridors, delivery windows and lead times are worth agreeing explicitly, and CIF or DDP terms that fix the transport component can reduce exposure to freight swings.

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Source: FAO Food Price Index and FAO/AMIS Market Monitor, 2 October 2026 (fao.org).