Increases in oil and fats prices offset lower cereals and sugar quotations while dairy and meat values remained substantially unchanged.
The pause in the Index’s decline tallies with a significant upward revision in FAO’s latest forecast for 2012 world cereal production. This is now estimated at 2302 million tonnes – 20 million tonnes up on December’s forecast.
FAO’s monthly cereals supply and demand brief noted that the revision mostly reflects adjustments to maize production estimates in China, North America and the European CIS countries. But even at the new level, global cereal output would still be 2% down on the 2011 record crop.
Early prospects for 2013 cereal production point to increased world wheat output. Contributing largely to this prospect is an estimated 4-5% increase in the area under wheat in the European Union, where weather conditions have also been generally favourable so far.
But in the US, the outlook is less favourable. Despite an estimated 1% increase in winter wheat plantings and prospects for spring wheat areas to expand, severe drought conditions continue to plague the southern Plains, where the condition of crops is reported to be very poor.
Source: FAO
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024