US Food Price Reductions 12-26-25

From January 2025 to late 2025, several food categories saw price decreases, with dairy products, eggs, pork, poultry, and sugar often highlighted as experiencing deflation or significant price drops, while cereals, some meats (beef), and oils generally rose, though overall food inflation was softening, especially in categories like fruits and vegetables. Specific items like butter, milk powder, pig meat, and chicken saw global price dips due to ample supply, though consumer prices varied.  

Key Food Items with Decreased Prices (Jan-Nov 2025):

Dairy & Eggs: Dairy product prices trended down, with butter, whole milk powder, and skim milk powder falling globally; eggs saw large monthly drops in early 2025.

Pork & Poultry: Prices for pig and poultry meat decreased due to strong global supplies and increased export competition, notes the FAO Food Price Index.

Sugar: Tumbled significantly by late 2025, reaching multi-year lows on expectations of large harvests from major producers like Brazil.

Fruits & Vegetables: While generally stable, fresh vegetable prices were predicted to remain flat or slightly lower in 2025 compared to 2024, according to the USDA ERS.

Processed Poultry: Saw price drops in September 2025, notes the Producer Price Index Home - Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Overall Trends:

Softening Inflation: Food price inflation eased in the U.S. during the first half of 2025, with monthly price dips, especially for eggs.

Category Differences: While some staples like beef and eggs saw large increases from their peaks, other areas like dairy and sugar brought overall costs down. 

Note: Price changes are dynamic; data reflects trends up to late 2025, with some global figures being more recent (November) than U.S. CPI data (November 2025). 

From January 2025 to November 2025, the price index for dairy and related products decreased, while prices for specific items like lettuce and tomatoes, pork, processed poultry, fats and oils, rice, and pasta saw declines or remained relatively flat during parts of this period. Overall food prices, however, experienced an increase. 

Price Changes for Specific Food Categories

According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for the 12 months ending in November 2025, the following categories experienced a price decrease or minimal change: 

Dairy and related products: Prices for this category decreased by 1.6% over the last 12 months.

Fruits and vegetables: The overall index for this category increased by only 0.1%. Within this category, prices for specific items such as lettuce and tomatoes dropped in the first half of the year due to improved growing conditions.

Fats and oils: Prices for fats and oils were predicted to decline in 2025 compared to the previous year.

Cereals and bakery products: While the index as a whole increased by 1.9%, prices for items such as rice and pasta saw a year-over-year price drop.

Pork and processed poultry: These items saw prices decrease during various months within 2025. 

Most other food categories, including meats, poultry, fish, eggs, and nonalcoholic beverages, experienced price increases during this period. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=what+foods+have+decreased+in+price+from+january+2025+to+today

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader