GENEVA - Cooking oils are the latest commodity to be impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The United Nations says prices for world food commodities like grains and vegetable oils have reached their highest levels as a result of Russia’s military assault on its European neighbor.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said last month that its Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices for a basket of commodities, averaged 159.3 points last month, up 12.6% from February.
The ongoing war has prompted a 17.1% rise in the price of grains, including wheat and others like oats, barley and corn. Together, Russia and Ukraine account for around 30% and 20% of global wheat and corn exports, respectively.RELATED: Food prices soar to record levels amid Russia-Ukraine war, supply disruptionsBut vegetable oils have seen the largest price increase with a price index rise of 23.2%.
The increase has largely been driven by higher quotations for sunflower seed oil that is used for cooking. Ukraine is the world's leading exporter of sunflower oil, and Russia is No.