Global: Cereal production, consumption and trade hit record levels in 2021-22 season

The current FAO forecast for 2021 global cereal production was increased by 2.1 million tons in February and now stands at 2,793 million tons, up 0.8 percent from last year. Higher-than-expected wheat harvests in Argentina and Australia, as well as slightly higher production estimates in the Russian Federation and Ukraine, are the main drivers for this month's outlook change. With these changes, the expected global wheat production in 2021 is close to that of 2020. In contrast, global coarse grain production forecast for 2021 was cut by 0.2 percent due to expected declines in sorghum production in Burkina Faso, Niger and the United States of America. This decline was partly offset by higher projected corn production in the European Union, Ukraine and the United States of America, where the 2021 crop was the second largest ever. Despite a lower forecast this month, global coarse grain production in 2021 is expected to reach 1,501 million tonnes, up 1.3 percent from last year. ...