Food Price Pressures Driven by El Nino and Geopolitical Tensions

Gist India is bracing for a renewed cycle of food inflation driven by an erratic southwest monsoon, a strengthening El Nino, and the depletion of global food buffer stocks amid geopolitical tensions. While headline Kharif sowing data appears normal, plunging fertiliser sales and surging wholesale crop prices signal an impending drop in agricultural yields. Aspirants must track this development as it highlights the direct transmission of global climate anomalies and supply-chain disruptions into domestic macroeconomic instability and food security challenges. Background Low-Pressure Systems LPS : These are weather phenomena that bring rain when warm, moist air near the ground rises, cools, and condenses into clouds. Their frequency and duration largely dictate the distribution of India's monsoon rains. El Nino: A climate pattern characterized by the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. For India, it traditionally suppresses monsoon rainfall by weakening the moisture-laden easterly trade winds and raises winter temperatures. FAO Food Price Index: Issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations , this index measures the monthly change in international prices of…