MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

This year will again be positive for global cereal production, anticipates FAO

Worldwide output of coarse grains is forecast at 1 360 million tons, a 2.2 percent drop from 2017

The United Nations FAO has raised its forecast for global cereal production in 2018 to 2.601 million tons, primarily due to higher estimates for wheat production in Canada and China. Nonetheless, the new forecast remains 2.1 percent below the record level achieved in 2017.

Global rice output this year is expected to surpass last year's all-time high by 1.3 percent, reaching 513 million tons, according to FAO's latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, also released today.

World wheat production in 2018 is now forecast at around 728 million tons, marking a 4.3 percent decline from the previous year. Winter wheat crops, to be harvested in 2019, are currently being sown in the Northern Hemisphere, while in the European Union, the United States and India generally remunerative prices are expected to stimulate an increase in plantings.

Worldwide output of coarse grains is forecast at 1 360 million tons, a 2.2 percent drop from 2017. Coarse grain crops are currently being planted in the Southern Hemisphere countries, and early prospects indicate an expansion in maize plantings in South America.

FAO expects world cereal utilization to rise by 0.2 percent to a record 2 653 million tons, spurred by higher feed and industrial uses of maize, especially in China and the United States. The use of wheat for food consumption is anticipated to rise by 1.0 percent, while that for rice to increase by 1.1 percent.

Worldwide cereal stocks at the close of seasons in 2019 are now forecast to reach almost 762 million tons, some 6.5 percent below their record-high opening level.

Total inventories of coarse grains are expected to fall for the first time in six years, while those of wheat are set to decrease by 4.5 percent, with draw-downs to be led by major exporters. World rice stocks, by contrast, are expected to rise by 2.6 percent to 176.6 million tons.

International trade in cereals is now forecast to decline 1.1 percent from the 2017/18 record level, with trade in both wheat and rice contracting. World trade in coarse grains is still forecast to remain close to the previous year's record level, at around 195 million tons, with maize volumes increasing while those of sorghum declining.