Rome, October 4 (elmundo.cr) – World food prices fell in September due to the growing stocks of the main staple foods.
The FAO food price index fell by 1.4 percent compared to August and now stands at 7.4 percent below the level of September 2017.
The FAO grain price index fell 2.8 percent, supplied by maize, because the expectations of a very abundant crop in the United States of America reduced export prices. International prices for rice and wheat also fell in September, for wheat, mainly due to the high sales figures and shipments still in the making from the Russian Federation.
The FAO price index for vegetable oil recorded its eighth consecutive monthly decline and dropped by 2.3 percent to the minimum of three years. Palm oil prices recorded the sharpest decline, hit hard by the large stocks in the main export countries, and are now 25 percent below their level a year ago.
FAO's milk price index fell by 2.4 percent in September and continued its downward trend, while the price index for meat fell slightly compared to the revised value in August.
The FAO sugar price index is 21 percent below the level of September 2017, while it has increased by 2.6 percent compared to August, as the harvest is under way in Brazil – The largest producer and exporter in the world, points out that the drought conditions have had a negative effect on the yields of sugar cane. Monsoon rains below average in India and Indonesia also exerted upward pressure on international sugar prices.
FAO increases its prediction of cereal production for 2018
In its informative paper on grain demand and supply, which is also published today, the FAO is raising its prognosis for world cereal production to 2 591 million tonnes this year, although this figure is still 2.4% below the historical ceiling of 2017.
In Australia and Canada the fall in rainfall is expected to lower wheat yields, but this must be offset by higher yields in Algeria and the Russian Federation. And corn production in the United States is expected to reach the second highest recorded level, more than offsetting the downward revisions in Russia. At the same time, world rice production is estimated to increase by 1.3 percent and thus exceeds the historical record of last year, driven by indications of higher plantations than expected in Asia, especially in India.
FAO expects that the use of grain in the world will increase to 2,647 million tons in the 2018/19 season, 1.1 percent more than the estimated level of the previous year. World cereal trade is expected to approach 417 million tonnes, about 1 percent less than the record level of the 2017/18 marketing year. At the same time, a fall is forecast for the international trade volumes of wheat and rice and an increase in maize volume.
Global grain stocks at the end of the 2019 season are estimated at 751.3 million tonnes, nearly 7 percent below their record opening levels, as a marked decrease in grain stocks is expected. the European Union and the Russian Federation.
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