FAO’s first forecasts for cereal production in 2002 and utilization in 2002/03 indicate that output will remain below the expected level of utilization and stocks will have to be drawn down again in 2003 for the fourth consecutive year. However, supplies are expected to remain ample, particularly of wheat and coarse grains. Despite a generally favourable global food outlook, some 34 countries around the world are experiencing food shortages. The...

Global cereal output in 2001 is provisionally estimated at 1 880 million tonnes (including rice in milled terms), slightly up from the forecast in December and 1.2 percent up on the previous year. However, with global cereal utilization in 2001/02 still forecast to be well above this level at 1 935 million tonnes, the global cereal stocks will be drawn down significantly. While overall food supply prospects for 2002 are more...

Improvement of drying, softening, bleaching and dyeing coir fibre/yarn and printing coir floor coverings. Coconut fibre, or coir, is a low-value by-product of coconut production. In most countries coir is discarded as waste, sometimes it is used as a fuel, in few instances it is processed into products.

Latest information indicates a slightly larger global cereal output in 2001, of 1 870 million tonnes (including rice in milled terms). However, even at this level, production would still be less than the anticipated utilization requirements in 2001/02, leading to a significant draw-down of cereal stocks. While Afghanistan currently faces a grave food supply situation, food emergencies persist in many other countries. World cereal trade in 2001/02 is forecast at 233 million...

The outlook for 2001 cereal output has deteriorated since June due to persisting drought in some important producing countries. The latest forecasts put world production well below anticipated utilization in 2001/02, pointing to a substantial decline in stocks. Food emergencies of varying intensity persist for 62 million people worldwide, according to FAO estimates in September, about the same number as at this time last year. Cereal production in 2001 is now...

World cereal stocks will be drawn down again in 2001/02. Although latest indications continue to point to a larger cereal crop in 2001, output would be insufficient to meet global utilization for the third year in succession, leading to a further reduction in cereal stocks by the conclusion of crop seasons ending in 2002. World cereal output in 2001 is forecast at 1 878 million tonnes, (including rice in milled...

The first forecast for world cereal output in 2001 is 1 889 million tonnes, almost 2 percent above 2000. Output of wheat is forecast at 585 million tonnes, unchanged from last year’s crop, while that of coarse grains is seen to rise by almost 4 percent to 905 million tonnes. Production of rice (milled basis) is tentatively forecast to remain unchanged at 399 million tonnes. At the forecast level, cereal output...

World cereal output in 2000 is provisionally estimated at 1 852 million tonnes, up slightly from the forecast in November. The forecast for global cereal utilization has also been adjusted upward to 1 909 million tonnes. The shortfall in production will have to be met by a significant drawdown of global cereal stocks. The estimates of cereal stocks in China (Mainland) have been revised substantially upward for all years beginning in 1980,...

Proceedings of the seminar on Alternative Applications for Sisal and Henequen, held in Rome on 13 December 2000, provided a forum for the analysis and exchange of information between technical and market experts, with a view to evaluate the market potential for existing and, in particular, alternative applications for sisal and henequen.