International wheat prices declined for the third consecutive month in March 2024. Favourable crop conditions in the Russian Federation and the United States of America underpinned declines of 8.9 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, in the Russian Federation (offer, f.o.b., deep sea ports) quotations and the benchmark United States of America (US No. 2, Hard Red Winter) values. A 5.3 percent decrease in the European Union (France, grade 1, Rouen) prices mostly reflected continued strong competition from the Russian Federation on export markets.

By contrast, world maize prices firmed marginally month-on-month in March 2024. Buying interest, especially from China (mainland), and logistical difficulties in Ukraine provided support for Black Sea (feed) maize prices, which increased by 3.1 percent. The benchmark United States of America (US No.2, Yellow) maize prices also edged upwards marginally, by 1.6 percent. Partially offsetting those increases, the Brazil (Paranagua, feed) quotations and Argentina (Up River) values continued to ease, by 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, with harvests underway in both countries.

The FAO All Rice Price Index averaged 138.1 points in March 2024, down 1.7 percent from its February level. Export quotations of indica rice eased in all the major Asian exporters during March, as although Indonesia remained in the market for supplies, demand proved insufficient to offset the supply-side pressure on prices. This was most evident in Viet Nam, where quotations slipped 5 percent below February levels as the winter-spring harvest peaked and the dong weakened vis à-vis the United States dollar. In the absence of substantial orders, prices also eased in Thailand and Pakistan, with the ongoing offseason harvest also weighing on quotations in Thailand. By contrast, a robust pace of sales in response to demand continued to underpin quotations of rice (US No. 2, 4% Long Grain) in the United States of America.