World grain trade forecast for the 2022-2023 season suggests a reduction in its volumes

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has revised its forecast for the global cereal production in 2022, raising it by 7.7 million tonnes to a total of 2,785 million tonnes, although this is still 1.0 percent below the previous year's figures. This increase is primarily due to better-than-expected crop yields in Kazakhstan and India, with Kazakhstan's wheat production being significantly higher than expected. The global feed grain production forecast has also been increased, driven by a higher harvest in India. The FAO's global rice production forecast for 2022-23 is slightly higher at 516.7 million tonnes, but still marks a 1.8 percent decrease from the previous season. The global cereal consumption forecast for 2022-23 has also been raised to 2,780 million tons, despite being 0.7 percent below the previous year. The FAO expects global cereal stocks to total 855 million tons by the end of the 2023 season, which is slightly above the previous forecast but still 0.2 percent below the beginning of the season. The estimated global grain trade for 2022-23 is now 472 million tons, up by 2.6 million tons from the previous forecast.