CHINA EMERGED AS THE WORLD'S THIRD-LARGEST FOOD AID DONOR IN 2005 WHILE ETHIOPIA WAS THE TOP FOOD AID RECIPIENT, DPA QUOTED A NEW UNITED NATIONS SURVEY AS SAYING . THE SURVEY BY INTERFAIS, AN INFORMATION SYSTEM CONTROLLED BY THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (WFP), ALSO FOUND THAT GLOBAL FOOD AID TOTALLED 8.2 MILLION METRIC TONS IN 2005, UP 10 PER CENT FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. THE UNITED STATES REMAINED THE WORLD'S MOST GENEROUS FOOD AID DONOR, PROVIDING NEARLY HALF OF ALL DONATIONS. OVERALL DONATIONS FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION TOTALLED 1.5 MILLION TONS, WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, AUSTRIA, DENMARK, THE NETHERLANDS AND SWEDEN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING THEIR SUPPORT, WFP SAID IN A STATEMENT. CHINA, WHICH STOPPED RECEIVING WFP FOOD AID IN THE SAME YEAR, ACCOUNTED FOR MORE THAN HALF OF THE OVERALL RISE IN FOOD AID DONATIONS IN 2005, WITH A 260 PER CENT INCREASE COMPARED TO 2004. DONATIONS FROM CHINA TOTALLED 577,000 METRIC TONS AND WERE MOSTLY DIRECTED AT THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA. THE BIGGEST RECIPIENTS WERE ETHIOPIA, WITH 1.1 MILLION TONS OF FOOD AID, FOLLOWED BY NORTH KOREA AND SUDAN.
