NOTE

Food Outlook is issued under the Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture, by collaboration among Services of the Markets and Trade Division and other FAO units. The International Grain Council Contributes the Ocean Freight Rates section. Food Outlook provides information on latest developments in agricultural markets and sets the global and regional commodity production, utilization, trade and price context for food security. It is published twice a year in June and November. This issue is based on information available up to October 2008.

GIEWS	The Global Information and Early Warning System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

	GIEWS continuously monitors crop prospects and the food security situation at global, regional, national and sub-national levels and warns of impending food difficulties and emergencies. Established in the wake of world food crisis of the early 1970’s, the GIEWS maintains a unique data base on all aspects of food supply and demand for every country of the world. The System regularly provides policy makers and the international community with up-to-date and accurate information so that timely interventions can be planned and suffering avoided.

Food Outlook and other GIEWS reports are available on the internet as part of the FAO World Wide Web (www.fao.org) at the following URL address: http://www.fao.org/giews. In addition, some of the GIEWS regular reports can be received by e-mail through automatic mailing lists: subscription information is available at http://www.fao.org/giews/english/listserv.htm. Other relevant commodity studies, technical documents and featured publications on wide range of topical issues are available on the FAO Markets and Trade Division website at: http://www.fao.org/es/esc/en/index.html.