The conflict is also driving up food prices - FAO's global index for March increased by 2.4% compared to February
Global food commodity prices rose for the second consecutive month in March, driven mainly by higher energy costs linked to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a report.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, 2.4 percent higher than February and 1.0 percent above its level a year earlier.
According to the report, the FAO Vegetable Oil Index and the Sugar Price Index showed the largest increases, by 5.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.
The FAO Cereal Price Index rose 1.5 percent from the previous month, driven mainly by higher world wheat prices, which rose 4.3 percent.
The Meat Price Index rose 1.0 percent from the previous month and the FAO Rice Price Index fell 3.0 percent in March, according to the report.
The FAO stated that rising energy and fertilizer prices have increased the costs of agricultural inputs.
If the conflict lasts beyond 40 days, farmers will have to choose to grow the same thing with fewer inputs, plant less or switch to less fertilizer-intensive crops, according to FAO chief economist Maximo Torero.
These choices will affect future yields and shape food supplies and commodity prices for the rest of this year and beyond, Torero said.
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