Despite a steady decline in the final months of 2025, the average annual value of the FAO Food Price Index ended higher than in 2024, reports ProAgro Group.

In December, the index stood at 124.3 points, down 0.6% month-on-month, as lower prices for dairy products, meat and vegetable oils more than offset increases in grain and sugar prices. Year-on-year, the index was 2.3% lower than in December 2024 and 22% below its peak recorded in March 2022. However, the average index value for 2025 reached 127.2 points, up 4.3% compared with the previous year.

Grain prices edged up in December amid concerns over exports from the Black Sea region and higher corn prices, but on average the annual cereals index fell to its lowest level since 2020. Rice prices declined sharply in 2025 due to ample global supplies and strong competition among exporters.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index dropped to a six-month low in December as prices for soybean, rapeseed and sunflower oil fell, although the annual average remained the highest in three years amid tight global supply.

Meat prices declined toward the end of the year, yet the annual meat price index increased by more than 5% in 2025 due to strong global demand and geopolitical uncertainties. Dairy prices also fell in December, but the sector closed the year with an index increase of over 13%, driven by high prices in the first half of the year. Sugar prices rose in December; however, 2025 recorded the lowest annual average sugar price since 2020 due to sufficient global supply.

As previously reported, FAO forecasts record global grain production and stocks in 2025.