Global food prices rose in March for a third straight month with more hikes to come, the UN's food agency said on Thursday, adding to fears of hunger and a new wave of social unrest in poor countri

Milan Global food prices rose in March for a third month in a row driven by gains in vegetable oils and grain, adding to inflationary pressure, the United Nations’ FAO index showed on Thursday.

The index, which measures monthly price changes for a food basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, averaged 215.9 points in March, up from revised 215.4 points in February, data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) showed.

Food subsidies for poorest will help them cope: ADB

A hike in the cost of food staples like rice and wheat could push tens of millions more people into extreme poverty in the South Asian region including India, says an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.

Chennai The food subsidies targeted at the poorest in the South Asia region would help them cope with the spike in cost of food staples like rice and wheat, although the price rise may push tens of millions people into extreme poverty, says a new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

South Asia’s high population growth rates and a large number of people already living on or close to the extreme poverty line of $1.25 a day means it is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to food price shocks. Spending on food already accounts for half the total budget of low-income households.

World food prices will drop this year as increase in unemployment in developing and developed countries slows growth in demand, the United Nations said.

“We have started to see a decline in food prices,” Jose Graziano da Silva, director general of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, said at a conference in Hanoi on Thursday. World economic expansion will slow to 3.3% this year from 3.8% in 2011, according to the International Monetary Fund.