April 24, 2009
High food prices burden developing countries
Food prices remain high in developing countries despite a bumper world grain crop in 2008 and falling grain prices, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation said Thursday (Apr 23).
"Cereal prices in developing countries remain generally very high - in some cases at record levels," said the FAO's latest Crop Prospects and Food Situation report.
Around 32 countries are struggling to feed their populations due to a range of issues including poor local harvests, high domestic prices and slow imports, according to the report.
The FAO forecasts world cereal production in 2009 at 2.217 billion tonnes, down 3.1 percent from 2008's record crop of 2.289 billion tonnes.
A large part of the reduction in output is due to an expected five-percent fall in world wheat production to 655 million tonnes in 2009, said the report.
"In several major producing countries, farmers have been discouraged by sharply lower grain prices compared to a year ago, while input costs remain relatively high," said the report.
Chicago wheat futures prices have more than halved over the past year in the wake of the global credit crisis to trade at US$5.28 a bushel, as at 0933 GMT.
However, the fall in production is expected to be buffered by carryover stocks from the 2008 crop and lower demand for cereals for animal feed and biofuels, said the report.
