Market uncertainty lifts global meat prices in 2025 - FAO
FAO cites geopolitics, animal disease and shifting demand
20 January 2026
1 minute read
By: Market uncertainty due to geopolitical tensions and animal disease outbreaks were among factors pushing up meat prices in 2025, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in a report published 9 January.
According to the report, bovine and ovine prices were higher compared to the previous year, while pig and poultry prices declined.
The FAO's Food Price Index – a benchmark for global food commodity prices – fell in December, as lower dairy, meat and vegetable oil quotations offset higher prices for cereals and sugar.
Global agrifood systems continue to impose "hidden costs" equal to 10% of global gross domestic product, cautioned David Laborde, director of FAO's Agrifood Economics Division, in an article published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.
In a separate commentary for the Forum on Trade, Environment, and the SDGs, Caroline Dommen argued that a new approach to food and agricultural trade was needed.
