World food commodity prices

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Context

World food prices increased by nearly 13 per cent in comparison to February, the latest Food Price Index of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows.
Prices made a significant leap in March to reach their highest levels ever.

Findings of the Report

Russia-Ukraine War in the Black Sea region spread shocks through markets for staple grains and vegetable oils.
Russia and Ukraine together account for 30 per cent and 20 per cent of the world’s wheat and maize exports respectively. Maize price has also been increasing. It recorded a 19.1 per cent increase from February.
The loss of exports from the Black Sea region is resulting in lower shipments from and to the region, as well as higher global prices, reduced imports, slower demand growth in several countries.
The disruption due to the war has ramped up sunflower seed oil prices as well. Ukraine is the world’s leading exporter of Sunflower Oil.
The likely disruptions to agricultural activities of these two major exporters of staple commodities could seriously escalate food insecurity globally.

Food Price Index

The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities. It consists of the average of five commodity group price indices weighted by the average export shares of each of the groups over 2014-2016.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

It is a specialized agency of the United Nationsthat leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
It was founded on in 1945.
Its goal is to achieve food security for alland make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.
The FAO is composed of 195 members(including 194 countries and the European Union). It is headquartered in Rome, Italy.
It helps governments and development agencies coordinate their activities to improve and develop agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and land and water resources.
It also conducts research, provides technical assistance to projects, operates educational and training programs, and collects data on agricultural output, production, and development.