Context: Recently, the United Nations food agency has said that World food prices rose for a seventh consecutive month in December.
About the Index

• It was introduced in 1996 as a public good to help in monitoring developments in the global agricultural commodity markets.
• The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities.
• It measures changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar.
• Base Period: 2014-16.

Key highlights

• The food price index measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 107.5 points last month versus 105.2 in November.
• The benchmark index averaged 97.9 points for the whole of 2020 which is a three-year high and a 3.1% increase from 2019.
• The benchmark index was still down more than 25% from its historical peak in 2011.
• The vegetable oil prices continued recent strong gains, jumping 4.7% month-on-month in December after surging more than 14% in November.
• The cereal price index posted a more modest 1.1% rise in December from November.
• The export prices for wheat, maize, sorghum and rice all rose in December, moving higher in part due to concerns over growing conditions and crop prospects in North and South America as well as Russia.
• The dairy index climbed 3.2% on the month, however, over the whole of 2020, it averaged some 1% less than in 2019.

About the Food and Agriculture Organization

• FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
• World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on 16th October. The day is celebrated to mark the anniversary of the founding of the FAO in 1945.
• India released a commemorative coin of Rs. 75 denomination to mark the 75th Anniversary of the FAO (16th October 2020).
• It is one of the UN food aid organisations based in Rome (Italy). Its sister bodies are the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).