Regional Roundups
West Africa
Cereal prices generally stable and at low levels, except in areas of countries affected by the Ebola Virus Disease
In Western Africa, prices of locally-produced sorghum, millet and maize remained mostly stable in August and were significantly below the corresponding period last year, reflecting adequate supplies from last year’s good production, as well as generally favourable prospects for the 2014 cropping season across the subregion. In coastal countries along the Gulf of Guinea, the beginning of the 2014 first harvesting season has put downward pressure on prices in some markets. However, in countries affected by the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak, restricted trade flows and market disruptions led to significant food prices spikes in some areas.
In the Sahel, in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, millet and sorghum prices in August remained stable or declined in some markets. In particular, millet prices dropped sharply in Bamako, the capital city of Mali and in the Maradi market in Niger. Overall, in these countries, coarse grain prices were considerably below their levels in August 2013.
In Chad, by contrast, millet prices increased seasonally in most markets in July. Prices have been less stable than in other Sahelian countries during the current 2013/14 marketing year (November-October) due to the sharp decline in the 2013 cereal production.
In coastal areas, in Nigeria, maize prices remained mostly unchanged from May to July in the main northern Kano market, after several months of instability. Increased supplies from the new 2014 harvest in the southern part of the country and generally favourable prospects in the main producing regions of the North contributed to the price stability observed in recent months.
In Guinea, Liberia and Sierra-Leone, the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has caused serious market disruptions and restricted trade flows both internally and across borders. Despite favourable prospects for the 2014 main crop harvesting season -due to widespread good rains throughout the cropping season in the Mano River sub-region- the trade disruptions, combined with a significant depreciation of the local currencies, with all three countries net cereal importers, have caused food prices spikes in some areas, particularly of Liberia.
In Benin and Togo, maize prices declined in most markets in July, as harvesting of the 2014 first season maize crop is underway.
