World ​food prices rose in August to their highest since late 2022, as adverse weather and ‌war disruption in the Black Sea heightened concern over supply of staples, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday.

Extreme heat and drought in Europe, the threat of a severe El Nino weather pattern and trade upheaval caused by the Ukraine ​and Iran wars have unsettled agricultural markets, pushing grain prices to three-year highs and sugar to a one-year ​peak.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded ⁠food commodities, averaged 133.3 points in August, up from July’s revised reading of 130.8.

That was the highest ​score since November 2022, though nearly 17% below a record peak from March 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of ​Ukraine.

“August’s increase in global food prices is a warning that the risk premium is returning to food markets: climate shocks, geopolitical tensions and disrupted trade logistics are converging to tighten supply expectations,” FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said in a statement.

The FAO’s ​price benchmarks for cereals, vegetable oils, sugar, meat and dairy all rose in August.

The extreme weather in Europe ​affected prospects for the maize (corn) and sugar beet harvests as well as livestock output, while the anticipated El Nino phenomenon ‌fuelled concerns ⁠for palm oil and sugar output in Asia, it said.

Escalating attacks in the Black Sea have curtailed grain shipments from Russia and Ukraine in their 4-1/2-year-old war, while the U.S.-Iran conflict was straining flows of fertiliser for crops.

Among food categories, FAO’s cereals price index rose 2.2% month-on-month to its highest since May 2024, and the ​vegetable oil index edged up ​0.6% to its highest ⁠since June 2022.

The agency’s sugar benchmark jumped 11.9% to its highest since June 2025, with lower production in Brazil’s crucial center-south region adding to weather concerns in ​Europe and Asia.

In a separate report, the agency cut its 2026 global cereal production ​forecast by ⁠3.4 million metric tons from a previous estimate in July to 2.980 billion tons, now 2.0% below 2025 in the largest annual decline since 2018.

Projected output would still be the second-largest on record, however.

Forecast world cereal stocks at the close of 2026/2027 were revised ⁠down ​1.1% to 947.2 million tons, now only marginally above the previous ​season.

A reduced estimate of coarse grain stocks outweighed an upward revision for wheat that reflected an anticipated build-up in Russian and Ukrainian stocks ​due to shipping disruption, the FAO said.

South Korea is reviewing a range of options, including possible military measures, to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the presidential office said on Friday, while denying reports that Seoul had already decided to deploy military assets.

Several South Korean media outlets, including JTBC and MBC, reported on Thursday that the government was preparing to deploy military assets to the region before the end of the year and could seek parliamentary approval as early as this month.

The reports said options under consideration included a maritime patrol aircraft, a logistics support vessel and a mine detection and clearance unit.

A presidential official confirmed that South Korea was discussing practical ways to contribute to freedom of navigation in the strategic waterway and that military measures were among the options being reviewed.

“Nothing has been decided,” the official told reporters, adding that Seoul would need to consider domestic legal procedures, military readiness on the Korean Peninsula and the possibility of parliamentary approval before taking any action.

The official also rejected reports that South Korea had provided no assistance related to the Strait of Hormuz, saying Seoul had long been discussing possible practical contributions with the international community.

South Korea has also been discussing the scale and nature of any potential contribution with countries including the United States, Britain and France, according to local media reports.

President Lee Jae Myung could discuss South Korea’s options regarding the Strait of Hormuz when he meets French President Emmanuel Macron next week, the presidential official said.

The issue comes amid heightened tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a major global energy shipping route. U.S. President Donald Trump said in an August social media post that he had scaled back joint military exercises with South Korea partly because Seoul had declined to assist the United States in its war against Iran.

Rescuers were searching on Monday for survivors a day after a ferry capsized off Northern Cyprus, leaving eight people dead and 18 missing, authorities said.

The ferry departed from the northern port of Girne around midday on Sunday bound for the Turkish mainland but capsized shortly afterwards, triggering a major rescue operation. There were 267 people on board, of whom 241 were rescued, while eight died and 18 remained missing, according to local authorities. Their nationalities were not immediately disclosed.

Several survivors told local media they heard a blast shortly before the vessel overturned, while others said the ferry had begun taking on water before the accident, about four nautical miles into the journey.

Police detained the captain and more than a dozen others following the incident. The captain and eight others were brought before a judge early Monday and formally arrested, according to the official Cypriot news agency TAK.

Northern Cyprus has declared three days of national mourning for the victims.

Footage broadcast by Turkish television showed passengers wearing life jackets clinging to the overturned ferry’s orange hull. The vessel later sank completely and is now lying at a depth of 514 metres, Northern Cyprus Transport Minister Erhan Arikli said.

Arikli said recovering the ferry’s “black box” could help investigators determine the cause of the disaster. Survivors gave differing accounts of the incident, with some reporting an explosion at the front of the vessel and others saying there had not been enough safety equipment on board.