According to a report released by the United Nations, global food prices hit their highest level since 2011 in September. Food prices on global markets have risen by almost a third in the past year. The food groups with the biggest gains were vegetable oils, grains, sugar and dairy products.

According to the report, experts believe that COVID-19 is the cause of the phenomenon. They say quarantine restrictions have upset the balance of supply and demand in the food market. In addition, as oil and gas prices have risen, so has the price of transporting goods.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced on Thursday that its global food price index reached 130 in September, up 1.2 percent month-on-month and 32.8 percent year-on-year, the highest since September 2011.

"The increase in the September index was led by increases in the prices of most grains and vegetable oils," the report said Dairy and sugar prices also increased, while the meat price index remained unchanged."

Nikita Maslennikov, head of the Economics and finance research department at Russia's Institute for Modern Development, told RT that the main reason for the rise in global food prices is the imbalance between supply and demand.

Maslennikov said the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing quarantine restrictions in some countries have led to production cuts and subsequent food shortages in the international market. Meanwhile, global consumer demand has been growing steadily since the end of 2020, he noted.

He added: "The disruption of transport and logistics distribution chains has had an additional significant impact on prices. Now there is a real crisis around the world because of the shortage of containers. This has led to rapid increases in freight rates and transportation costs."

Georgi Ostapkovich, director of the Institute of Statistical Research and knowledge Economy at Russia's Higher School of Economics, said the situation was further complicated by rising global prices for oil, gas and coal.

"Energy prices are soaring," ostapkovic said. More expensive natural gas and coal affect electricity costs. That will eventually show up in the cost of the product and logistics."

Experts say Russia has been affected to some extent by the general rise in global food prices. Domestic food prices rose 9.21 percent year on year in September, the highest in more than five years, according to a report released by Russia's Ministry of Economic Development and the National Statistics Agency.

Ostapkovich says about 40 percent of the increase in food prices in Russia is due to rising global food prices. In addition, the cost of domestic transport services is also an important factor.

"In countries like Russia or Brazil, the impact of higher freight rates is much greater," he says. In Russia, for example, fruit and vegetables from stavropol border region to Kamchatka can take up to a week and a half to transport by refrigerated train. It does add to the price."

The latest data from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development show that the average annual increase in consumer prices of goods and services in Russia has increased to 7.48 percent.