The Food and Agriculture Organization on Friday report that the global rice prices hit 15-year high in August, after top exporter India banned some overseas sales of the grain.

While global food prices decreased in August, those for rice increased 9.8% from July to August, “reflecting trade disruptions in the wake of India’s ban on Indica white rice exports,” the FAO stated in a monthly report.

An index of food-commodity costs fell 2.1% last month on subdued demand and good output of vegetable oils and milk, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday. The gauge has slid 24% since hitting a record in March 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted grain exports.”

The article explained that, “Grains have been a big driver of the retreat since last year. A second bumper Russian wheat harvest has helped temper prices, and Ukrainian exports continue to flow despite the end of a Black Sea grain deal and repeated attacks on its ports. The US is also forecast to collect a near-record corn crop, although extreme heat at the end of the growing season risks curbing yields.”