São Paulo – The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) informed this Thursday (8th) that wheat production worldwide will be the next-to-largest ever this year, second only to that of 2011.
The harvest forecast is 690 million tonnes, a figure 10 million tonnes lower, or 1.4% than in 2011, but much higher than the average of the last five years, according to the UN agency. The information was culled from a report on the harvest and food trade outlook.
The FAO warned, however, that despite the positive outlook, weather problems have caused food insecurity in several areas of the world, such as the Sahel, a region in West Africa which comprises Niger, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso. Sudan and South Sudan were affected by drought in the western portion of the continent and had smaller harvests than expected.
Asia has the best outlook when it comes to the wheat crop, especially because of production in India.
Regarding the maize crop, a decline is expected in production in Central America, due to drought in Mexico, still the South American crop should grow above average, despite dry weather in some portions of Argentina and Brazil.
The organization also informed that international food prices went up by 1% in February. The prices of sugar, wheat, maize, oil and pork increased, but those of rice, dairy, poultry and beef decreased.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
