Global cereal production heading for a record high

FAO’s new forecast for global cereal production in 2023 has been raised by 5.9 million tonnes (0.2 percent) in July from the previous month, now standing at 2 819 million tonnes, 1.1 percent higher year on year and reaching a record high. This month’s increase almost entirely reflects better prospects for global wheat production, with the forecast lifted by 0.9 percent to 783.3 million tonnes, albeit still remaining 18.4 million below the record registered in 2022. Upward revisions have been made to the forecast for wheat production in the European Union, where generally conducive weather conditions instigated a small upturn in yield expectations, notwithstanding the effects of rainfall deficits in the Iberian Peninsula. Forecasts have also been raised marginally for Canada and Kazakhstan, where spring wheat is predominantly grown, on account of higher-than-previously anticipated plantings, while recently released official estimates place Türkiye’s wheat crop higher than the ...