PARIS: World food prices jumped to a new record high in March as the war in Ukraine caused turmoil in markets for staples grains and edible oils, the UN food agency said on Friday.

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 159.3 points last month versus an upwardly revised 141.4 for February.

The February figure was previously put at 140.7, which was a record at the time.

Russia and Ukraine are both major exporters of wheat, corn, barley and sunflower oil via the Black Sea, and Moscow’s six-week-old invasion of its neighbour has stalled Ukrainian exports.