Global food prices monitored by FAO fell in March amid large available supplies and expectations of strong harvests. The FAO Food Price Index averaged nearly 171 points in March, marking a 2.8 percent drop from the previous month while remaining 13.4 percent above its level a year earlier.
Spain's Fisheries Secretary General Andrés Hermida opened on Monday the World Congress on Cephalopods organized by FAO and the Conxemar in Vigo underlining the importance of this large and heterogeneous group of species, --octopus, cuttlefish, squid--, for the fisheries sector and as raw material for the processing industry.
A devastating livestock disease is continuing to extend its global reach and is now present in 76 countries. Georgia recently reported its first-ever case of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), a viral disease which is capable of severely impacting goat and sheep populations, while a new outbreak has occurred in the Maldives, showing that even island states are vulnerable to the plague.
The international prices for major food commodities saw a modest decline in July, following five consecutive months of increases. The FAO Food Pice Index (FPI) averaged 161.9 points in July 2016, slipping 0.8 percent (1.3 points) below its level in June and 1.4 percent below its level of July 2015.
The recent period of high agricultural commodity prices is most likely over, say the OECD and FAO in their latest 10-year Outlook. But the two organizations warn of the need to be vigilant as the probability of a major price swing remains high.
A groundbreaking international accord aimed at stamping out illegal fishing went into effect on Sunday and is now legally binding for the 29 countries and a regional organization that have adhered to it.
Illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing is about to become much more difficult thanks to the imminent entry into force of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), a ground-breaking international accord championed by FAO.
The FAO Food Price Index for March rose by 1.0% compared to February, as soaring sugar prices and continued increase in palm oil quotations more than offset plunging dairy product prices. The Index averaged 151.0 points in March, its highest level in 2016, but still some 12.0% below its level of a year earlier.
World cereal production in 2016 is set to amount to 2 521 million tons, just 0.2% off last year's large output and the third-highest global performance on record, according to FAO's first forecast for the new season, released on Thursday. Large inventory levels and relatively sluggish global demand mean that market conditions for staple food grains appear stable for at least another season, the agency's latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief predicts.
FAO's latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief forecasts a 1.4 percent drop in worldwide wheat output in 2016, due mainly to dry weather leading to reduced winter plantings in the Russian Federation and Ukraine. However, China and Pakistan are expected to sustain near-record wheat harvests, and India's output is anticipated to recover.