International wheat prices followed mixed trends in May, increasing in North America and the European Union due to unfavourable weather developments but down slightly in the Black Sea region and Argentina. Export prices of maize remained generally unchanged, while rice quotations were underpinned by strong demand. In Asia, rice prices rose sharply to record highs in Bangladesh, reflecting tighter supplies due to reduced production and imports in 2016, along with...

FAO estimates that 37 countries are in need of external assistance for food. Civil conflict continues to be a main driver of severe food insecurity, triggering famine in South Sudan and putting populations at high risk of localized famine in Yemen and northern Nigeria. Weather shocks, notably droughts, have also impinged on food availability and access, and have in particular compounded the fragile situation in Somalia where famine conditions continue...

This technical note describes a novel approach to measuring changes in the affordability of nutritious diets in low-income settings, using price indexes to monitor how trade policy or market infrastructure and other factors influence the cost of reaching a standard threshold of dietary diversity. We provide preliminary results for a new Cost of Diet Diversity (CoDD) price index in Ghana, contrasted with existing Cost of Nutrient Adequacy indexes as well...

Tilapia lake virus (TiLV) poses a great threat to the tilapia sector. Tilapias are farmed globally and are the second most important aquaculture species in terms of volumes produced, providing a key source of affordable animal protein, income to fishfarmers and fishers, and domestic and export earnings. TiLV has been confirmed in some countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is likely that TiLV may have a wider distribution...

An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) visited South Sudan from 30 November to 12 December 2016 to estimate cereal production during 2016 and assess the overall food security situation. The CFSAM reviewed the findings of several crop assessment missions conducted at planting and harvest time in the different agro-ecological zones of the country from May to December 2016. As during 2014 and 2015, all assessment missions were...

International wheat prices generally declined in April, on account of ample supplies and generally favourable outlook for the 2017 harvest. Export prices of maize remained under downward pressure, mainly reflecting expectations of bumper crops in Southern Hemisphere countries. By contrast, international rice prices increased, supported by a rebound in trade activity, especially due to accelerated sales to countries of the Near East. In East Africa, cereal prices rose further in...