The cereal supply and demand balances included in this report present a subset of data from the FAO/GIEWS Country Cereal Balance System (CCBS) database created and continuously kept up to date by the Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) and Basic Foodstuffs teams of the Markets and Trade Division, with data since 1980. It contains annual supply and utilization balances for the main cereals produced...

This quarterly bulletin features agricultural trade policy changes in the region. It provides current trade measures, agreements, statistics and articles by experts covering trade-related issues in countries across the region, and it is sent to members of the Agricultural Trade Expert Network. The network connects experts from Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia as part of the FAO’s Regional Initiative 2 in Europe and Central Asia “Transforming food systems and...

Este informe técnico explora los retos y oportunidades a los que se enfrenta el sector de las frutas tropicales para cumplir las normas de la Unión Europea (UE) sobre límites máximos de residuos (LMR) y uso de plaguicidas. La estrategia "De la Granja a la Mesa" de la Unión Europea pretende reducir a la mitad el uso de plaguicidas químicos de aquí a 2030. En este contexto, los productores que pretenden...

The agriculture sector is both a contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is affected by trade policies. As more and more regional trade agreements (RTAs) include environment-related provisions (ERPs), this technical note explores whether agriculture-related ERPs in RTAs are associated with reduced GHG emissions from agriculture. The research applies a novel dataset on ERPs related to the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors (Ag-ERPs) to analyse this relationship in...

The relationship between trade and the environment is intricate. Trade can improve the allocation of production among countries, with an efficiency-enhancing role in natural resources use. Likewise, open markets can improve access to new technologies that make domestic production processes more cost-efficient and reduce the use of inputs as well as other environmentally harmful substances. However, economic growth due to trade expansion can have a direct impact on the environment...

The Monthly Price Update is an information product provided by the oilseeds desk of the Markets and Trade Division of FAO. It reviews the development of international prices for oilseeds, oils and meals as reflected by FAO’s price indices. In January 2024, the FAO price indices for oilseeds and oilmeals declined month-on-month, while the vegetable oil price index remained virtually unchanged. All three price indices remained below their respective year-earlier...

International wheat and coarse grain prices declined in January 2024 as large seasonal supplies exerted downward pressure on prices. By contrast, the FAO All Rice Price Index increased by 1.2 percent in January, largely reflecting increases in Indica quotations. FAO’s analysis of domestic staple food prices shows that high price levels persisted in December 2023 and January 2024. In most countries, domestic staple food prices remained elevated due to multiple factors,...

The Monthly Price Update is an information product provided by the oilseeds desk of the Markets and Trade Division of FAO. It reviews the development of international prices for oilseeds, oils and meals as reflected by FAO’s price indices. In December 2023, the oilseed and vegetable oil price indices declined marginally compared to November 2023, while the oilmeal price index fell markedly. For 2023 as a whole, all three price...

FAO’s Responsible Business Conduct Quarterly Bulletin (RBC-Q) shares events and resources on FAO’s activities on Responsible Global Value Chains and news from around the world related to business, risk and development in the agricultural sector. It is prepared by FAO’s Markets and Trade Division (EST). This issue of the bulletin covers the period October–December 2023.