As food prices hit new highs, a high-level inter-ministerial committee will meet today to assess agricultural commodity prices, sources privy to matter said
The inter-ministerial group, which will comprise officials from the ministries of agriculture, commerce, finance, consumer affairs, and food and public distribution, among others, will examine the pricing of edible oil, soyabean, onion, tomato, wheat, rice, and pulses, according to the source.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) food price index, which is a weighted average of world prices of a basket of food commodities over a base period value (in this case, 100 for 2014-16), had shown huge volatility in the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and now the Russia-Ukraine war, as reported earlier in March.
The Reserve bank of India’s monetary policy council had cautioned about "elevated global price pressures in major food commodities," which had thrown the inflation outlook into "high uncertainty" and "required ongoing monitoring."
Furthermore, due to strong global prices, the country's agricultural exports increased by 19.9 percent, reaching a new high of USD50.21 billion in 2021-22.
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