Latest publications
Book (stand-alone)
Food Outlook – Biannual report on global food markets – June 2025
12/06/2025
FAO’s latest assessments indicate a relatively optimistic outlook for food commodity markets, with production and trade of all commodities, except sugar,...
Book (series)
Food Outlook – Biannual Report on Global Food Markets - November 2024
14/11/2024
FAO’s latest assessments indicate differing trajectories across different commodities, with wheat, maize, and sugar production set to decline, while...
Book (stand-alone)
Food Outlook – Biannual Report on Global Food Markets - June 2024
13/06/2024
FAO’s latest forecasts point to increased production and higher stocks for several basic foodstuffs. However, global food production remains susceptible...
Book (series)
Food Outlook – Biannual Report on Global Food Markets - November 2023
09/11/2023
FAO's latest forecasts point to favourable production outlooks across most basic foodstuffs. However, global food production systems remain vulnerable...
Publications
Food Outlook - October 2016
03/10/2016
From a global perspective, food markets are expected to remain generally well balanced in 2016/17 amid large export availabilities and relatively low and more stable international prices, especially for cereals. The world food import bill is set to dip to a six-year low, while still remaining above the USD 1 trillion mark.
Food Outlook - June 2016
01/06/2016
Global food commodity markets are broadly stable, supported by adequate supplies. Prospects for continued stability remain favourable also for 2016/17. Despite larger volumes of imports, the world food import bill is set to decline by 9 percent to a 7-year low in 2016, on expectation of lower international prices and freights. The International Year of Pulses 2016 presents a unique opportunity to bring to the fore the challenges faced by the sector and galvanize stakeholders to ensure the successful role of pulses in food and nutrition security, poverty alleviation and sustainability.This issue of Food Outlook includes a special features section," Pulses: A multi-faceted crop" that presents information and production, consumption and trade statistics on pulses, the contribution of pulses to environmental sustainability and nutritional benefits of pulses.
Food Outlook - October 2015
01/10/2015
Global supplies and a strong US dollar are keeping international food prices under downward pressure. The outlook for the coming season is unlikely to diverge much from the current situation, but currency movements and macroeconomic developments may have important implications for markets gain in 2015/16. Against this backdrop, the world food import bill is forecast to reach a five-year low in 2015.
Food Outlook - May 2015
04/05/2015
Food Outlook is published by the Trade and Market Division of FAO under Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS). It is a biannual publication focusing on developments affecting global food and feed markets. Each report provides comprehensive assessments and short term forecasts for production, utilization, trade, stocks and prices on a commodity by commodity basis and includes feature articles on topical issues. Food Outlook maintains a close synergy with another major GIEWS publicat ion, Crop Prospects and Food Situation, especially with regard to the coverage of cereals. Food outlook is available in English. The summary section is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish and Russian.
Food Outlook - October 2014
01/10/2014
Food Outlook is published by the Trade and Market Division of FAO under Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS). It is a biannual publication focusing on developments affecting global food and feed markets. Each report provides comprehensive assessments and short term forecasts for production, utilization, trade, stocks and prices on a commodity by commodity basis and includes feature articles on topical issues. Food Outlook maintains a close synergy with another major GIEWS publicat ion, Crop Prospects and Food Situation, especially with regard to the coverage of cereals. Food outlook is available in English. The summary section is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish and Russian.
Food Outlook - May 2014
02/05/2014
Food markets have been affected by weather concerns and political tensions in the Black Sea region, which have boosted the FAO Food Price Index since February. While the 2014 global food import bill could stabilize at USD 1.29 trillion, animal product bills are set to increase, sustained by rising volumes and prices.
Food Outlook - November 2013
04/11/2013
Food Outlook is published by the Trade and Market Division of FAO under Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS). It is a biannual publication focusing on developments affecting global food and feed markets. Each report provides comprehensive assessments and short term forecasts for production, utilization, trade, stocks and prices on a commodity by commodity basis and includes feature articles on topical issues. Food Outlook maintains a close synergy with another major GIEWS publication, Crop Prospects and Food Situation, especially with regard to the coverage of cereals. Food outlook is available in English. The summary section is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish and Russian.
Food Outlook - June 2013
03/06/2013
Food commodity markets are set to be more balanced in 2013/14, in particular cereals. The global food import bill is forecast to reach USD 1.09 trillion in 2013, 13 percent below the record of 2011 but close to the 2012 estimate, as higher bills for fish and livestock products are anticipated to offset lower expenditures on most other commodities, especially sugar.
Food Outlook - November 2012
05/11/2012
Food prices have averaged 8 percent lower during the first ten months of 2012 compared to the same period last year. Considerably lower international prices and freights, together with less cereal purchases are predicted to reduce global expenditures on imported foodstuffs. The 2012 forecast for global food import bills is set at USD 1.14 trillion, 10 percent lower than the record which was set last year.
Food Outlook - May 2012
02/05/2012
Global food prices seem to have stabilized at a relatively high level of around 214 points as measured by the FAO Food Price Index. Although the outlook for the second half of this year and into the next indicates generally improved supplies, demand remains strong and the global food import bill in 2012 is expected to fall only slightly from the 2011 record.
Food Outlook - November 2011
03/11/2011
In spite of improved supply prospects and weakening demand, agricultural commodity market conditions remain fairly tight, which is the major factor underpinning prices. Production forecasts for nearly all key food crops in 2011 have risen steadily since the previous report in June. For cereals, while the forecast for ending stocks in 2012 has also been revised up significantly, larger anticipated inventories reflect not only improved production prospects but also expectations of a slowing demand growth because of the unfavourable macroeconomic environment. In spite of these developments, however, international prices of all commodities covered in this report continue to be high and, in most cases, above the previous year. Strong underlying demand in certain countries, where economic growth is robust, is price supportive. Aside from being high, most prices are also extremely volatile, moving in tandem with unstable financial and equity markets. Fluctuations in exchange rates and uncertainties in energy markets are also contributing to sharp price swings in agricultural markets.
Food Outlook - June 2011
01/06/2011
Halfway into this turbulent year and with new marketing seasons for major food crops commencing soon, this is a critical time to evaluate current developments in global food markets and to draw the early outlook for 2011/12. In a remarkable turn of events, earlier prospects for more comfortable supply situations and stable prices gave way to increasingly worrisome outlooks and to an escalation of international prices to levels not seen in decades. In fact, the FAO food price index in May stood at a near historical high of 232 points, down only 6 points from the February record. While unfavourable weather was the main culprit, a host of other unpredictable factors negatively impacted stability in the food markets, including the catastrophe in Japan, an unprecedented wave of political unrests engulfing many countries in North Africa and the Near East, another strong increase in oil prices, prolonged uncertainty in financial markets and in the global economy.
Food Outlook - November 2010
03/11/2010
International prices of most agricultural commodities have increased in recent months, some sharply. The FAO Food Price index has gained 34 points since the previous Food Outlook report in June, averaging 197 points in October, only 16 points short from its peak in June 2008. The upward movements of prices were connected with several factors, the most important of which were a worsening of the outlook for crops in key producing countries, which is likely to require large draw downs of stocks and result in tighter global supply and demand balances in 2010/11. Another leading factor has been the weakening of the United States Dollar (US Dollar) from mid-September, which continues to sustain the prices of nearly all agricultural and non-agricultural traded commodities. The increase in international prices of food commodities, all of which accruing in the second half of 2010, is boosting the overall food import bill in 2010 closer to the peak reached in 2008.
Food Outlook - June 2010
03/06/2010
As this report goes to print, concerns over macroeconomic prospects and global financial markets are once more gaining the headlines. Changes in the economic environment, including continuing fluctuations in exchange rates and high unpredictability have a strong influence on agricultural commodity markets. From the supply side, however, the 2008-2009 price boom spurred plantings and production of many food crops, resulting in a recovery in inventories and boosting stocks-to-use ratios, a tendency likely to prevail also in 2010/11. In fact, from sugar to wheat, most indicators point to increasing world supplies, a leading factor behind the sharp declines in international prices of major food staples this year.
Food Outlook - December 2009
02/12/2009
Recent developments in world agricultural markets for basic food commodities have raised concern about a possible return to another round of high prices. In general, however, the difficulties facing markets today are different from those experienced during the 2007/08 food price surge. The FAO Food Price Index, a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a food basket composed of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, has risen uninterruptedly since August 2009, a trend shared by nearly all its components. In November the index averaged 168 points, the highest since September 2008, although still 21 percent below its peak in June 2008. Prior to the price spike of 2007/08, the index never exceeded 120 points and, for most of the time, was below 100 points.
Food Outlook - June 2009
03/06/2009
In spite of strong gains in recent weeks, international prices of most agricultural commodities have fallen in 2009 from their 2008 heights, an indication that many markets are slowly returning into balance, in sharp contrast to what was witnessed this time last year. The apparent easing of market conditions is reflected in the benchmark FAO Food Price Index, which has fallen by one-third from last June’s peak.
Food Outlook - November 2008
03/11/2008
The previous (June 2008) issue of Food Outlook foresaw world prices of major agricultural commodities declining from the record levels they had just reached, amidst favourable prospects for global supplies. Since then, prices have indeed fallen, but farther and faster than can be explained through production gains alone. Underlying the price slide, in excess of 50 percent from their recent peaks, are other important factors, including the financial crisis, the halving of world crude oil prices and the appreciation of the US Dollar. And uncertainty is emerging as a dominant feature of world agricultural markets, as many of them are entering or about to enter a new season.
Food Outlook - June 2008
03/06/2008
All agricultural commodities covered in this report are of critical importance to global food and feed markets. They constitute much of the world’s food consumption, generate income to farmers and represent the largest portion of food import expenditures across the world. The analysis in the report puts in perspective market developments in recent months with a view to providing some insights into how the outlook might unfold for the commodities covered during the coming months.
Food Outlook - November 2007
05/11/2007
Agricultural commodity prices rose sharply in 2006 and, in some cases, are soaring at an even faster pace this year. The FAO food price index rose by 9 percent in 2006 compared to the previous year. In September 2007 it stood at 172 points, representing a year-on-year jump in value of roughly 37 percent. The surge in prices has been led primarily by dairy and grains, but prices of other commodities, with the exception of sugar, have also increased significantly.
Food Outlook - June 2007
04/06/2007
Based on FAO’s latest analysis, global expenditures on imported foodstuffs look set to surpass US$400 billion in 2007, almost 5 percent above the record of the previous year. The bulk of the increase can be levelled against rising prices of imported coarse grains and vegetable oils, the commodity groups which feature most heavily in biofuel production. Import bills for these commodities are forecast to rise by as much as 13 percent from 2006. More expensive feed ingredients will lead to higher prices for meat and dairy products, raising the expenditures on imports of those commodities. In several cases, such as meat and rice, the import bills are likely to be driven higher also because of larger world purchases. On the other hand, in the case of sugar, generally high and volatile prices could lead to smaller import volumes, the net effect of which is likely to be a drop in the cost of global sugar imports. The rise of international freight rates to new highs also affected the import value of all commodities, putting additional pressure on countries’ ability to cover their food import bills.