China's railway ticketing platform 12306 had sold a total of 150 million train tickets for the ongoing Spring Festival travel rush as of Sunday, according to the country's railway operator.
On Sunday, railways nationwide were estimated to handle 13.25 million passenger trips, and a total of 1,688 additional passenger trains were scheduled to operate on busy routes, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. said.
Railway authorities across the country are closely tracking passenger flows during the peak season and conducting dynamic big data analysis, ramping up transport capacity on popular routes and improving services to ensure smooth journeys for passengers.
The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, falls on February 17 this year, and the official holiday lasts nine days.
The annual travel surge, known as chunyun and often described as the world's largest human migration, is expected to generate a record 9.5 billion inter-regional passenger trips during the 40-day period running from February 2 to March 13 this year. Of the total, an estimated 540 million passenger trips will be handled by the country's railway services.
150 mln train tickets sold for festival travelers
150 mln train tickets sold for festival travelers
150 mln train tickets sold for festival travelers
Global food commodity prices climbed for a second consecutive month in March, driven mainly by higher energy costs linked to escalating conflict in the Middle East, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in report released on Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4 percent from February and 1.0 percent above its level a year ago.
According to the report, the FAO Vegetable Oil Index and Sugar Price Index showed the largest increases, up 5.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.
The FAO Cereal Price Index increased by 1.5 percent from the previous month, driven primarily by higher world wheat prices, which rose 4.3 percent.
The FAO Meat Price Index rose by 1.0 percent from the previous month, and the FAO All-Rice Price Index declined by 3.0 percent in March, according to the report.
FAO stated that rising energy and fertilizer prices have been driving up agricultural input costs.
If the conflict stretches beyond 40 days, farmers will have to choose to farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops, according to FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero.
These choices will hit future yields and shape food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and beyond, Torero said.
Global food prices rise for 2nd consecutive month in March amid Middle East conflict: FAO
