The benchmark for world food commodity prices fell in December compared to the previous month, as declines in dairy product, meat and vegetable oil quotations more than offset increases in those for cereals and sugar, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a set of globally-traded food commodities, averaged 124.3 points in December, down 0.6 percent from November and 2.3 percent from its level a year ago.
For the whole of 2025, the index averaged 127.2 points, 4.3 percent higher than its average in 2024, as higher world prices for vegetable oils and dairy products outweighed declines in cereal and sugar quotations.
The FAO Sugar Price Index rose by 2.4 percent from November, mainly due to a sharp drop in sugar production in Brazil’s key southern growing regions, while remaining 24.0 percent below its December 2024 level. For 2025 as a whole, the Index averaged 17.0 percent below the previous year, recording its lowest annual value since 2020, amid ample export availabilities.
