World food prices ease further in January, says United Nations' FAO

World food prices decline for the fifth month, driven by drops in dairy, sugar, and meat, reports FAO.

“World food prices fell for ‍a fifth straight month in January, led by ​declines in dairy, sugar and meat products,” ‌the United Nations' Food and ​Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday (February 6, 2026).

“The FAO's food price index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 123.9 points in January, down 0.4% from December and 0.6% from a year earlier,” ​the agency said.

The index was 22.7% ⁠below its peak struck in March 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Dairy prices showed the largest ​drop among the ⁠main product groups, down 5% month on month, driven by lower cheese and butter prices. Meat prices slipped 0.4% as lower pig ‌meat prices outweighed increases in poultry prices.

Sugar ‌prices fell 1% from December and were 19.2% lower than a ‍year earlier, reflecting expectations of increased supplies. Cereals and vegetable oils rose last month, however.

FAO's ‍cereal index edged up by 0.2% as stronger rice prices linked to firmer demand offset slightly weaker quotations for other major cereals.