LONDON—World food prices rose in September for the first time in 18 months, pushed up by higher sugar and dairy prices, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said Thursday.

The FAO's Food Price Index rose from 155.1 to 156.3 in August, a gain of less than 1%, the organization said in its monthly report.

It marks a turnaround from August, when prices plunged 5.2%, the sharpest monthly drop in almost seven years. Still, the index is down 18.9% compared with a year ago and is hovering around a six-year low due to overproduction and reduced demand.

The reversal has been driven by increases in sugar and dairy, which had both registered particularly steep falls in August.

The FAO Sugar Price Index rose 3.2% from August, compared with a 10% drop the month before. Prices have risen amid worries about the impact of the El Niñ o weather phenomenon on Brazil, the world's largest producer, the report said. Cutbacks in cane harvesting would also increase the deficit for the coming season, it added.

The Dairy Price Index pushed 5% higher from August, following a 9.1% drop, as dairy farmers in New Zealand cut back production in response to low prices, the U.N. said.

Meanwhile, the Cereal Price Index and the Meat Price Index remained largely flat. The Vegetable Oil Price Index was slightly below last month's level, hitting its lowest price since March 2009.

Write to Katherine Dunn at Katherine.Dunn@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 08, 2015 06:25 ET (10:25 GMT)

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