Context:
World food prices dropped for the seventh month in a row
Key Findings:
- Food Price Index dropped 0.7 percent in February and is down 10.5 percent from a year ago
- Cereals alone dropped 5% during the month and 22.4% from February last year
- Wheat was pulled lower by stronger Russian exports and rice prices also fell.
- Vegetable oils also largely fell due to abundant harvests in South America.
- Sugar rose 3.2 % during the month because of dry weather in Brazil.
World Food Price Index:
- World Food Price Index – Measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities.
- Released by – Food and Agriculture Organisation
- Consists of – Average of 5 commodity group price indices
- Cereal
- Vegetable
- Dairy
- Meat
- Sugar
Food and Agriculture Organization:
- Founded in – 1945
- Status – Specialized agency of the United Nations
- Mandate – Leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.
- Headquarters – Rome, Italy
- Members – 195 members including European Union
- India is a member
- Reports published by the FAO –
- State of the World’s Forests (SOFO)
- State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA)
- State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO)
- State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI)
Source: Economic Times
Previous Year Question
Which of the following is/are the indicator/ indicators used by IFPRI to compute the Global Hunger Index Report?
1. Under nourishment
2. Child stunting
3. Child mortality
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2016 Prelims]
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 3 only
Answer: (c)
