World cereal supply and demand balance in the 2015/16 marketing season is likely to remain in a generally comfortable situation. While world cereal production is expected to fall below last year’s record, supplies will be almost sufficient to meet the projected demand, requiring only a small reduction in global inventories by the end of the season. AFRICA: Aggregate 2015 cereal production is forecast to decline mostly on account of poor...

International benchmark prices of maize and wheat firmed up in September. Maize prices increased mostly in response to the downward revisions of the 2015 production forecasts, while wheat prices were supported by concerns about the impact of dry weather on planting of the 2016 winter wheat crop in key producing countries. International quotations of rice declined further mainly resulting from sluggish export demand. In the CIS, the general depreciation of...

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.

The FAO/GIEWS Country Cereal Balance System (CCBS) is a database of annual supply and utilization balances for main cereals, covering all countries of the world. It has been maintained by FAO/GIEWS since 1980 and is updated on a continual basis. This statistical report, which is a subset of CCBS data, presents the current-year cereal supply and demand balances for all sub-Saharan African countries, highlighting cereal import and food aid requirements...

Prolonged dry weather associated with the current El Niño event reduces the 2015 output of the main season crops. Aggregate 2015 maize production of the subregion’s four major producing countries is tentatively forecast by FAO to fall 8 percent from the previous year’s already reduced level, but sharper declines are expected in most-affected El Salvador and Honduras. Imports of maize in the 2015/16 marketing year (September/August) are set to increase...

Global trade in agricultural and food products has grown rapidly in recent decades, with countries becoming more engaged in this trade, whether as exporters or importers. This trend is expected to continue over the coming decades. As a consequence, trade will play an increasingly important role in influencing the extent and nature of food security across all regions of the globe. The challenge has therefore become one of ensuring that...