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Worldwide cereal production hit a record level in 2017, up 33 million tonnes from 2016, to nearly 2 646 million tonnes, according to FAO's latest estimate in the Cereal Supply and Demand Brief. However, FAO's anticipates this year's world maize and wheat production to decline based on early forecasts.
Worldwide wheat output is expected to drop to 750 million tonnes, about one percent below its near-record level of the previous year. Forecasts suggest that U.S. output may rebound from its 2017 decline, while production in China, India and the Russian Federation may fall after a record year.
Coarse grain output is also expected to decline from the 2017 record, amid bad weather in Argentina, a shift from maize to soybean cultivation in Brazil, and a price-induced reduction in plantings in South Africa.
FAO's latest forecast for world cereal stocks at the close of crop seasons ending in 2018 stands at nearly 748 million tonnes, almost 4 percent higher than a year earlier and hitting a record level, with the increase led by wheat. This large carryover would go some way to mitigate the effect of the projected decline in this year's global production.
Thursday April 5, 2018/ FAO.
http://www.fao.org/
