ROME: The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has raised marginally its forecast for global cereal production in 2024 to 2853 million tonnes, reflecting upward revisions to rice and wheat outputs that outweighed a small reduction made to global coarse grains production. The new figure, published on Friday in the new Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, remains moderately below the record output of 2023.

World wheat production is expected to increase by 0.5 percent in 2024 from the previous year, as improved yield prospects in Australia more than compensate for a significant cut to the European Union’s forecast due to excessively wet conditions. By contrast, global production of coarse grains is now expected to decline by 0.8 percent from 2023, with smaller crops in the European Union foreseen to outweigh higher maize output anticipated in the United States of America. World rice production in 2024/25 is now forecast to rise by 0.9 percent and reach a historical high of 539.2 million tonn
es.

World cereal total utilisation is forecast to rise by 0.4 percent to 2 853 million tonnes in 2024/25, while global cereal stocks are predicted to expand by 1.2 percent, with rice stocks seen increasing three times faster. This results in a global cereal stocks-to-use ratio of 30.6 percent, which FAO considers ‘adequate supply prospects in the new season.’

International trade in cereals is now forecast at 488.1 million tonnes, representing a 2.7 percent contraction from the 2023/24 level. However, it is seen that increasing imports by Africa and Near East could spearhead a recovery in international rice trade in 2025.

Source: Emirates News Agency