International cereal prices mostly declined in October 2023. Wheat prices decreased, influenced by low and falling prices from the Russian Federation. International rice prices dropped by 2 percent month‑on‑month in October, affected by generally passive global import demand. By contrast, those of coarse grains firmed as price increases in Argentina outweighed the lower prices in Brazil. In most countries monitored by FAO, domestic staple food prices were in October 2023 at higher...

FAO's latest forecasts point to favourable production outlooks across most basic foodstuffs. However, global food production systems remain vulnerable to shocks, stemming from extreme weather events, and rising geopolitical tensions and policies, potentially tipping the delicate demand-supply balances, dampening prospects for international trade in food commodities and with implications for global food security.

The cereal supply and demand balances included in this report present a subset of data from the FAO/GIEWS Country Cereal Balance System (CCBS) database created and continuously kept up to date by the Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) and Basic Foodstuffs teams of the Markets and Trade Division, with data since 1980. It contains annual supply and utilization balances for the main cereals produced...

FAO assesses that globally 45 countries, including 33 in Africa, nine in Asia, two in Latin America and the Caribbean and one in Europe, are in need of external assistance for food. Although drought conditions eased in East Africa, production prospects remain unfavourable in 2023, while conflicts in several parts of the African continent are aggravating food security concerns. At the global level, El Niño poses a risk to agricultural...

In the current edition of a regular joint bi-yearly report, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) issue an early warning for urgent humanitarian action in 18 hunger hotspots in which acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further during the outlook period from November 2023 to April 2024. The report also identifies main drivers of acute food insecurity and country...

This study provides a quantitative assessment of the Indian dairy sector and aims to determine the underlying factors of the observed price movements. We analyse producer prices over time, differentiated by milk-producing ‘zones,’ and identify the underlying factors that might explain the observed discontinuities or interruptions in producer prices. The findings show no statistically significant change in wholesale milk prices immediately after the sudden lockdown was imposed in the five...

The FAO led project “Building responsible global value chains for the sustainable production and trade of tropical fruits” (GCP/GLO/022/GER) works with businesses, farmer organizations and other actors in the avocado and pineapple value chains. Our goal is to improve business performance by helping these two value chains be more sustainable and more resilient. The Action Report series provide periodic updates of the project’s activities. This report was published in October...

The October issue of the publication summarizes the salient trends and drivers of market developments and significant public policy changes in 2022. The review finds that the international prices of most dairy products trended downward after reaching near-alltime highs in mid-2022. Additionally, world milk output expanded in 2022 at the slowest pace during the last two decades and international trade in dairy products contracted following nearly two decades of annual...

The October issue of the publication summarizes the salient trends and drivers of market developments and significant public policy changes in 2022. The review finds that a confluence of factors, including sluggish import demand from leading meat importers and rising national production, led international meat prices to trend downwards in the second half of the year, The review also shows that global meat production growth was challenged by disease outbreaks,...