UN raises global grain production forecast due to Ukraine’s harvest
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has raised its forecast for global grain production in 2023 to almost 2.82 billion tonnes, 0.9 percent higher than the previous year, it said in a statement.
The higher forecast is almost entirely based on recent and more positive yield estimates for Russia and Ukraine, owing to continued favourable weather conditions, while Canada’s output is now expected to be notably lower, the FAO said.
FAO’s new cereal supply and demand estimates put global wheat output at 785 million tonnes, coarse grain production at 1.511 million tonnes—up 2.7 percent from 2022—and world rice output at 523.1 million tonnes.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of globally-traded food commodities, averaged 121.5 points in September, compared to 121.4 points in August.
"At this level, the index is 10.7 percent below its value a year ago and 24.0 percent below its all-time high reached in March 2022," the statement reads.
Global prices for vegetable oils, dairy products, and meat fell on global markets, while prices for sugar and corn were on the rise, the UN’s food agency added.