January 2026 has shown some signs of relief for crores of people struggling with inflation across the world, including India. According to the latest report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), global food prices have declined for the fifth consecutive month. The international market has softened due to cheaper essential products like milk, sugar and meat, although rising prices of rice and vegetable oil still remain a cause for concern.
FAO’s food price index, which reflects monthly changes in prices of major food products traded around the world, averaged 123.9 points in January 2026. This is 0.4 percent less than December 2025 and 0.6 percent less than the same period last year. According to the report, overall there are signs of relief in the global market, but inflation of some essential commodities may become a challenge in the coming months.
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In January, grain prices registered a slight increase of 0.2 percent compared to December 2025 and the grain price index stood at an average of 107.5 points. During this period, there was a slight decline in the global prices of wheat and maize.
According to FAO, due to sufficient wheat reserves in the world, the impact of weather-related concerns in Russia and America was limited. Expectations of good harvests in Argentina and Australia and high global inventories also helped keep prices under control. In contrast, rice prices increased by 1.8 percent in January. The market strengthened especially due to increase in demand for aromatic varieties.
What does it mean for India?
The continuous fall in the prices of milk, sugar and meat globally can bring double relief for India. This is likely to reduce the cost of imported food products. India’s large increase in sugar production indicates strong domestic supply and increasing export prospects. Farmers and sugar mills can benefit from this. However, rice and vegetable oils are under challenge.
Signs of increase in sugar production in India-Thailand: According to FAO data, there was a decline of 1% in the sugar price index in January 2026. This index, which stood at 90.7 points in December 2025, came down to 89.8 in January. The main reasons behind this are the expectation of increase in global supply due to increase in production in India, positive signals from Thailand and good production estimates in Brazil.
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