A joint FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Mission (CFSAM) visited the Syrian Arab Republic between 15 June and 1 July 2016 to estimate crop production and assess the overall food security situation.

International wheat and maize prices increased slightly in October, underpinned by strong import demand. However, ample global supplies and expectations of bumper crops kept average prices below their year-earlier levels. By contrast, quotations of rice continued to decline, as a result of new crop harvest and weak import demand. In Central America and the Caribbean, maize and bean prices continued to decline significantly with the new harvest, particularly in Honduras...

In mid-October, the Philippines was struck by two typhoons in close succession, Sarika, a Category 4 event on 16 October and Haima, a Category 5 event on 19 October. Central and northern parts of Luzon were the most affected areas. Strong winds, heavy rains and localized floods caused the loss of life and severe damage to the agriculture sector, including losses of the main staple rice paddy crop, as well...

La Mission conjointe FAO/PAM d’évaluation des récoltes et de la sécurité alimentaire (CFSAM) s’est rendue en Madagascar du 18 juillet au 20 août 2016. La Mission avait pour mandat de s’enquérir du déroulement de la campagne, de recenser et d’évaluer les facteurs ayant eu une incidence sur la campagne agricole 2015/16, d’établir une estimation de la production des denrées alimentaires de base et d’évaluer la situation globale de la sécurité...

On 4 October 2016, Hurricane Matthew, a Category 4 event with sustained winds of 230 km/h, made landfall in southwestern Haiti, with impact also on parts of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. Haiti was by far the most affected country. Early reports point to 473 confirmed deaths, with some unconfirmed reports putting this number at more than 1 000, and severe damage to at least 1 855 homes....

Wheat and maize export quotations generally declined in September, remaining at multi-year lows on account of ample world supplies and expectations of bumper crops. Rice prices also declined on account of improved prospects for global supplies and weak demand for imports. In Africa, food prices continued to soar in Nigeria driven by the continuous sharp depreciation of the local currency and insecurity in some areas. In South Sudan, cereal prices...

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.

The document is based on the publication “Review of Agricultural Trade Policies in post-Soviet countries 2014-15”. In the 2013-2014 period, most countries in the region registered a negative foreign trade balance in agrifood products (HS codes 1-24). The largest deficit in this product category was recorded in the Russian Federation, which had an average annual deficit over the two years of USD 23.9 billion. A positive foreign trade balance was...