ROME: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has updated its forecast for global cereal production in 2024, now predicting it will reach 2,854 million tonnes, setting a new all-time high.

In its Cereal Supply and Demand Brief issued on Friday, the FAO attributed the increased projections to a better harvest outlook for maize in Argentina, Brazil, Türkiye, and Ukraine. These improvements are expected to offset downgrades in the outlook for Indonesia, Pakistan, and several Southern African countries. The wheat production forecast has also been raised due to better prospects in Asia, notably Pakistan, which should compensate for an expected decline in the Russian Federation caused by inclement weather in major wheat-producing areas earlier in the season.

Global rice production is projected to reach a record 535.1 million tonnes.

World cereal total utilization in 2024/25 is forecast to rise to 2,856 million tonnes, up 0.5 percent from the previous year, driven by increases in rice and coarse grains.

Global cereal stocks are forecast to expand by 1.3 percent in 2025, leaving the global cereal stocks-to-use ratio in 2024/25 nearly unchanged at 30.8 percent.

The FAO's forecast for international trade in total cereals remains unchanged at 481 million tonnes, representing a 3.0 percent decline from 2023/24. – ANI/RSS