FAO September food price index rises 1.5%, with sugar outpacing vegetable oils
The FAO Food Price Index averaged 136.0 points in September, up 1.5% from revised August. Sugar and vegetable oil indices rose 6.1% and 0.9% month on month, with individual oils moving in different directions.
SHANGHAI BULK CHEMICAL Editorial Team4 min read
File photo: sugar cane fields in Steiglitz, Queensland, Australia, 2014. Illustrates the raw-material stage of sugar production.Photo: Shiftchange · Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0 · Resized and converted to WebP; cropped by the page layout.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released its September 2026 Food Price Index on 2 October, covering cereals, vegetable oils, meat, dairy products and sugar.
Period: September 2026 | Release: 2 October 2026 | Overall-index comparison: revised August
Sugar and oils differ, as do individual oils
The overall index rose 2.0 points from revised August. Sugar increased by 6.5 points, or 6.1%, and vegetable oils by 1.8 points, or 0.9%. The difference calculated from the published percentage changes is 5.2 percentage points.[1]
FAO attributes the rise in the vegetable oil index mainly to higher palm oil quotations. Sunflower oil quotations fell, while soy and rapeseed oils were broadly stable.[1]
FAO linked the sugar increase to expectations of tighter supplies in the 2026/27 season, including production prospects and weather factors in several origins.[2]
September food price indices
Bars show monthly increases on a shared 0–8% scale; index levels are listed separately.
The FAO index combines five commodity-group indices using weights based on their average export shares in 2014–2016. It tracks monthly international price changes across a basket of commodities.[1]
Index points are not prices per tonne, and comparing index levels does not show which commodity is more expensive. Neither the overall index nor differences in its components’ growth rates translate directly into transaction prices or import-cost changes for a particular grade.
Import pricing depends on specifications, shipment and payment terms
Different sugar and vegetable oil trends call for comparisons by type and grade: raw and white sugar, and oils at different refining stages, should be assessed separately. Import costs also include freight, insurance and other applicable charges for matching shipment periods and delivery terms. Renminbi expenditure depends on the contract currency, payment date and actual foreign-exchange terms.
Next index release scheduled for 6 November
FAO’s 2026 calendar schedules the next Food Price Index release for 6 November. Check revisions to this and earlier periods alongside the new release, retaining the data version used for subsequent comparisons.[1]
