World coarse grain production increases thanks to West African maize

Due to higher than expected maize yields especially in West Africa, rice in India as well as better than expected wheat harvests in the European Union, Kazakhstan and Russia, the FAO raised 17 million tonnes (Mt) its previous forecast, now estimating world cereal production at 2,761 Mt in 2020, up 1.9% from the previous year. The forecast for wheat was increased by 7.5 Mt and the forecast for coarse grains by 6.9 Mt. The forecast for world rice production was also increased by 2.6 Mt from last month. or + 2.1% from revised estimates for 2019. This month's upward revision mainly reflects more optimistic forecasts for production in India, where it was reported that the area planted for the secondary rabi crop are significantly larger than a year ago. Production was also adjusted upwards for Tanzania and Iran. The total cereal production of the 51 low-income, food-deficit countries increased by 3% in 2020 compared to the previous year and stood at 502.4 Mt, as the recovery in ...