Price of wheat jumps in international markets after India export ban and Ukraine war: UN food agency

06 Jun 2022 Evaluate

The UN food agency said that the price of wheat has jumped in the international markets after India announced a ban on the export of the staple cereal and due to the reduced production prospects in Ukraine following the Russian invasion. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Price Index averaged 157.4 points in May 2022, down 0.6 per cent from April. The index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of commonly-traded food commodities, however, remained 22.8 per cent higher than in May 2021.

The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 173.4 points in May, up 3.7 points (2.2 per cent) from April and as much as 39.7 points (29.7 per cent) above its May 2021 value. It said ‘international wheat prices rose for a fourth consecutive month, up 5.6 per cent in May, to average 56.2 per cent above their value last year and only 11 per cent below the record high reached in March 2008’. It added ‘the steep increase in wheat prices was in response to an export ban announced by India amidst concerns over crop conditions in several leading exporting countries, as well as reduced production prospects in Ukraine because of the war’.

In contrast, international coarse grain prices declined by 2.1 per cent in May but remained 18.1 per cent above their value a year ago. It noted that slightly improved crop conditions in the United States of America, seasonal supplies in Argentina and the imminent start of Brazil's main maize harvest led maize prices to decline by 3.0 per cent, however, they remained 12.9 per cent above their level of May 2021. International rice prices increased for the fifth successive month in May.

The FAO Sugar Price Index declined by 1.1 percent from April, as a bumper crop in India buoyed global availability prospects. The weakening of the Brazilian real against the US dollar, along with lower ethanol prices resulted in further downward pressure on world sugar prices. The FAO Sugar Price Index averaged 120.3 points in May, down 1.3 points (1.1 per cent) from April, marking the first decline after sharp increases registered in the previous two months. It said ‘the recent monthly decline in international sugar price quotations was triggered by limited global import demand and good global availability prospects, mostly stemming from a bumper crop in India’.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×