World food prices have risen by almost a third in 12 months, the Australianreports. The statistics were released Wednesday by the Westpac-National Farmers Federation Commodity Index.

The index said that September’s global agricultural product prices were 6 percent higher than the previous month. In the same period, wheat rose 16.7 percent, barley 13.4 percent, canola 5.6 percent, beef 2.4 percent, cotton 2.4 percent, wool 1.6 percent and dairy 1.1 percent.

Senior Westpac economist Justin Smirk stated that one reason for the rising prices was Australia’s drought, which has hurt the nation’s beef, grain and dairy exports. Australia supplies 15 to 19 percent of each of these commodities on the world market.

“In each case, drought in Australia has an impact on world supply and, therefore, world prices,” he said. “However, it is only one factor.”

Other contributors to the high prices include adverse weather conditions in Europe, which has experienced a hot and dry year, and in the United States, which had higher-than-average rainfall this July.

The St. Petersburg Timesreported that the trend is even worse in Russia: “Prices rose by as much as 30 percent for 9 out of 10 food products in September, the Russian Statistics Committee (Rosstat) has said, leaving ordinary people stressed and angered as basic products such as milk and vegetable oil are hit by rising inflation.”

As global demand for food rises and global agricultural belts continue to battle droughts, floods, disease and other adverse conditions, watch for the food on the table to become increasingly pricey, even rare. For more on global food supplies and world weather conditions, read “Rise in Food Prices Set to Continue” and “Flash Floods, Scorched Earth.”