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Global rice output this year is expected to surpass last year's all-time high by 1.3 percent, reaching 513 million tonnes, according to FAO's latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, also released today.
World wheat production in 2018 is now forecast at around 728 million tonnes, marking a 4.3 percent decline from the previous year. Winter wheat crops, to be harvested in 2019, are currently being sown in the Northern Hemisphere, while in the European Union, the United States and India generally remunerative prices are expected to stimulate an increase in plantings.
Worldwide output of coarse grains is forecast at 1 360 million tonnes, a 2.2 percent drop from 2017. Coarse grain crops are currently being planted in the Southern Hemisphere countries, and early prospects indicate an expansion in maize plantings in South America.
FAO expects world cereal utilization to rise by 0.2 percent to a record 2 653 million tonnes, spurred by higher feed and industrial uses of maize, especially in China and the United States. The use of wheat for food consumption is anticipated to rise by 1.0 percent, while that for rice to increase by 1.1 percent.
Worldwide cereal stocks at the close of seasons in 2019 are now forecast to reach almost 762 million tonnes, some 6.5 percent below their record-high opening level.
Total inventories of coarse grains are expected to fall for the first time in six years, while those of wheat are set to decrease by 4.5 percent, with drawdowns to be led by major exporters. World rice stocks, by contrast, are expected to rise by 2.6 percent to 176.6 million tonnes.
International trade in cereals is now forecast to decline 1.1 percent from the 2017/18 record level, with trade in both wheat and rice contracting. World trade in coarse grains is still forecast to remain close to the previous year's record level, at around 195 million tonnes, with maize volumes increasing while those of sorghum declining.
Friday November 2, 2018/ FAO.
http://www.fao.org
