Lower prices for staple grains more than offset by rising sugar and dairy prices in FAO Food Price Index

Figure: Farmers produce cassava flour in Sierra Leone.

FAO 6 October 2016, Rome-Global food markets will likely remain "generally well balanced" in the year ahead, as prices for most internationally-traded agricultural commodities are relatively low and stable, FAO said today.

The benign outlook, especially for staple grains, is poised to lower the world food import bill to a six-year low, according to the Food Outlook.

Record global production forecasts for this year's wheat and rice harvests, along with rebounding maize output, are helping keep inventories ample and prices low. Worldwide cereal production in 2016 should rise 2 569 million tonnes, up 1.5 percent from the previous year and enough to further boost existing inventories.

The value of total food imports is expected to fall 11 percent in U.S. dollar terms in 2016 to 1.168 trillion, as lower bills for livestock products and cereal-based foodstuffs more than offset higher bills for fish, fruit and vegetables, oils and particularly sugar. However, the decline is expected to be slower for economically more vulnerable nations, many of which have depreciating local currencies.

See more: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/445300/icode/