The cost of a healthy diet has risen 25 per cent over the past five years, reaching an average of $4.28 per person per day, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s 2026 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report. The increase leaves 2.69 billion people—almost one in three globally—unable to afford a nutritious diet, the FAO’s chief economist, Maximo Torero Cullen, told a press conference at UN headquarters in New York.

The report breaks down the cost structure: staple foods such as grains and legumes account for 13 per cent of the total, while animal products represent nearly 30 per cent and fruits and vegetables 16 per cent. Torero Cullen stressed that the core challenge is not producing enough calories but making nutrient-rich foods more affordable. Local food production could reduce the cost of a healthy diet by 34 per cent worldwide and by almost 80 per cent in Africa, compared with a standardised global food basket. The FAO recommends redirecting government subsidies away from cereals like rice and wheat toward more nutrient-dense foods, and investing in local logistics and infrastructure, given that 70 to 75 per cent of the cost is generated after food leaves the farm.

Regional disparities are pronounced. Latin America and the Caribbean register the highest costs, a pattern Torero Cullen attributed partly to an emphasis on exports over sufficient and diversified local supply. In Colombia, the national statistics agency reports that potato prices have jumped 50.26 per cent this year, while onions, tomatoes, meats and dairy products have also seen double-digit increases, forcing households to adjust purchasing habits. In Indonesia, a separate report links extreme heat to a 207 per cent surge in out-of-pocket health expenditures since 2000, with more than two-thirds of the population living on less than $8.30 per day and highly vulnerable to financial shocks from medical costs. Canada, meanwhile, has committed over C$3 billion over 10 years to its first national food security strategy, yet nearly half of its food is wasted; food recovery organisations argue that redirecting edible surplus could ease pressure on both household budgets and food banks, where demand has hit record levels.

The full FAO report will be presented on 21 July at the organisation’s headquarters in Rome. For the coming year, Torero Cullen identified two factors that could further disrupt food prices: a potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which would aggravate global fertiliser supply disruptions, and the El Niño weather phenomenon, expected to peak toward the end of 2026.