Prices of locally produced coarse grains, mainly sorghum and millet, increased in October, despite ongoing main season harvests. The gains were particularly high in markets located in central areas affected by conflicts and in areas bordering Senegal and Burkina Faso. On a yearly basis, prices of coarse grains were up to 125 percent higher. The abnormal high price levels of coarse grains mostly reflect a below‑average market supply situation, underpinned by conflict-related market disruptions and reduced cereal outputs in 2021, amid strong export and domestic demand. Furthermore, reduced trade flows underpinned by lingering effects of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sanctions, enforced during the first half of 2022, export bans in neighbouring countries as well as bottlenecks and increasing prices of imported commodities, associated with the Ukraine crisis, have added upward pressure on prices. Below-average cereal production prospects in 2022 due to localized floods, insecurity and constrained access to fertilizers, are additional factors weighing on prices. In order to mitigate the price increases and safeguard market availabilities, a ban on cereal exports was introduced in December 2021 and remains in effect (FPMA Food Policies).