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The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 147.3 points in February, down fractionally (0.1%) from January and 2.0 points (1.4%) above its level one year ago.
After falling for three consecutive months, international wheat prices rose marginally (0.3%) in February. The slightly firmer tone mostly reflected ongoing concerns over dry conditions in key production areas of Hard Red Winter wheat in the United States of America, and robust demand for supplies from Australia, while strong competition among exporters helped to cap price gains.
World maize prices changed little, up just 0.1% month-on-month. Support stemmed from worsening conditions in Argentina, and planting delays for the second maize crop along with a strong export pace in Brazil, while low demand for supplies from the United States of America weighed on maize export prices.
By contrast, among other coarse grains, world prices of sorghum were down fractionally (0.2 percent), while barley prices declined slightly (0.9%) in February, mostly attributed to higher seasonal availability in the southern hemisphere.
On the other hand, international rice prices eased by 1.0% in February, as trading activities in most major Asian exporters slowed, while their national currencies depreciated against the United States dollar. This was especially the case in Thailand, where the baht weakened from the ten-month highs it reached in January, contributing to the reversal of most of the price increases registered in January.
March 3, 2023/ FAO.
https://www.fao.org/
