UN

Over the weekend, the United Nations Secretary-General announced an extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.  The announcement came at the last minute as the agreement was set to expire.  The Initiative facilitates the safe navigation for the exports of grain and related foodstuffs and fertilizers, including ammonia, from designated Ukrainian seaports.  During ...

Global food costs moved lower again for the 11th consecutive month.  The Financial Post says while consumers are still spending more for food, prices are at their lowest level in the last 17 months.  The UN Food and Agricultural Organization’s Food Price Index dropped 0.6% in February,...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which started just over a year ago, has impacted food security and increased food inflation, according to U.S. National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby.   “Putin has weaponized food. He's weaponized...

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization’s Food Price Index dropped during December, but 2022 food prices were 18% higher year-over-year.  The December index averaged 132.4 points, 2.6 points below November, the ninth-straight monthly decline.  The December ...

The United States is not the only country enjoying U.S. sweet potatoes.  According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the United States was the top global exporter, by volume, of sweet potatoes in 2020.  ERS ann...

Ukraine's farmers are desperately trying to get what's left of last year's crops moved into export and to find room for the upcoming harvest, while also fighting a war. During a recent meeting at the UN, leaders from a variety of nations held a round table meeting on the Ukraine situation...

A United Nations report confirms how extreme weather events have come to dominate the disaster landscape in the 21st century. Between 2000 and 2019, there were more than 7,300 major recorded disaster events claiming 1.23 million lives, affecting 4 ...

A new analysis identifies 27 countries that are on the frontline of impending COVID-19-driven food crises, as the pandemic's effects aggravate pre-existing drivers of hunger. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Program report that no world region is immune ...

The Global Food Price Index has increased 2% in the past year.  The most recent monthly record of global food prices by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations averaged 173.5 points, up 2.7% from April 2017.  While the prices of most cereal grains and dairy products continued to increase in April, sugar prices fell further.  Vegetable oil and...

A measure of global food prices decreased in November largely due to a decline in dairy values.  The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations monthly Food Price Index averaged 175.8 points in November, down 0.5%, from October.  However...