World food prices rose in July to their highest in more than three years as adverse weather and war escalation in the Gulf and Black Sea supported crop markets, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 131.1 points in July, up from 130.3 in June and the highest reading since January 2023.

The FAO's chief economist told Reuters this week that the world faces another bout of food inflation as wars in Iran and Ukraine along with El Nino create a perfect storm of higher costs and lower crop yields.

A 3.4% month-on-month rise in the FAO's cereal price index drove the July trend, fuelled in turn by a 5.8% jump in wheat prices, the agency said.

Wheat markets were affected by concerns over Black Sea export disruptions and heat damage to crops in key producing regions, it said. GRA/

The FAO's vegetable oil index rose 2% to its highest level since June 2022.

Higher crude oil prices amid escalation in the Iran war and strong demand for biodiesel supported palm and soy oil prices, though rapeseed and sunflower oil declined.

Sugar prices rose 5.6% on weather concerns in Europe and Asia and expectations of stronger ethanol demand in Brazil.

In contrast, meat prices fell 2.8% from a record high in June, FAO said.

Poultry, pig and bovine meat prices declined, though sheep meat prices reached a record high amid tight export supplies in Oceania. Dairy prices fell 0.7%.

The FAO's overall food price index reading for July was slightly above a previous three-year high in April.

The latest reading was nonetheless 18.2% below its March 2022 peak that followed Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.