المنتدى العالمي المعني بالأمن الغذائي والتغذية

The FAO Trade and Markets Division has released the latest issue of the biannual Food Outlook report, which focuses on developments affecting global food and feed markets.

This issue highlights that for nearly all the commodities covered in the report, markets tend to exhibit a well-balanced situation at the global level. However, in some cases prospects at the country or regional level may diverge from this positive outlook. Furthermore, larger import volumes and rising shipping costs are expected to lift the global food import bill to over USD 1.3 trillion this year, up 10.6 percent from 2016.

The report can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7343e.pdf.

The latest issue of the FPMA Bulletin FAO/GIEWS monthly report on food price trends at world, regional and country level with a focus on countries where prices of one or more basic food commodity are at abnormal high levels in main markets.

Main highlights of this issue are the general decline of wheat and maize prices in the international market; while at sub-regional level, the further increase in cereal prices in East Africa and in the Southern Hemisphere countries the downward pressure on maize prices exerted by overall favourable production prospects in 2017

Key Messages

• Wheat prices generally declined in April, on account of ample supplies and generally favourable outlook for the 2017 harvest. Export prices of maize remained under downward pressure, mainly reflecting expectations of bumper crops in Southern Hemisphere countries. By contrast, international rice prices increased, supported by a rebound in trade activity, especially due to accelerated sales to countries of the Near East.
• In East Africa, cereal prices rose further in April and reached record or near‑record levels in most countries. Prices were underpinned by tight supplies, following drought-reduced 2016 second season outputs, and uncertain prospects for the upcoming 2017 harvests due to drier‑than‑average conditions and armyworm infestation affecting key‑growing areas.
• In Southern Hemisphere countries, favourable maize production prospects kept domestic prices under downward pressure in April and below their year-earlier levels. In Brazil, where a bumper first season crop is being harvested, maize prices declined sharply in April and averaged some 40 percent lower than a year earlier. In South Africa, expectations of a near‑record output pushed down white maize prices for the fourth consecutive month to less than half their year-earlier levels.

The report can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7230e.pdf.

The new Codex Trust Fund, or CTF2, was officially launched on 27 June. The first countries in which implementation will take place under CTF2 are Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar and Senegal. Many other countries submitted strong applications and will benefit from ongoing consultations with FAO/WHO to strengthen their applications prior to resubmission in subsequent rounds.

Building on the success of the first Codex Trust Fund, FAO and WHO launched a successor initiative to the Codex Trust Fund (CTF2) in January 2016. In the next 12 years, multi-annual support will be provided to over 100 countries to strengthen their capacity for full and effective engagement in Codex. Read the founding Project Document for more details.