Chicago corn futures topped $8 a bushel for the first time in nearly a decade. The cost approached a record level due to hostilities in Ukraine, which threaten to disrupt supplies and increase demand for grain from the United States, Bloomberg reports.

The conflict in Ukraine has disrupted supply chains in a region that accounts for a fifth of crop exports. Russia's actions could also derail the Ukrainian sowing campaign, significantly reducing supply. US products could rise in price due to a sharp increase in fertilizer prices and growing demand.

Corn prices have not risen to $8 since September 2012, when crops in the US Midwest were decimated by devastating drought and heat. Futures are approaching an all-time high of $8.49 a bushel reached in the same year.