In its first monthly report of the new year, the FAO reported that its broad Food Prices Index dropped 1.6 percent in January compared to a month earlier. Despite the drop, the index was still 6.2 percent higher than it was in the same month a year earlier, although it remained 22 percent below its all-time high which was reached in 2022.

The FAO Food Price Index, the benchmark for world food commodity prices, declined in January, averaging 124.9 points during the month, down 1.6 percent from its December level.The drop was driven by significant decreases in the international quotations for vegetable oils and sugar,