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World cereal markets heading towards a record production in 2021/22 but only a marginal increase foreseen for stocks
04.06.2021 13:46 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
Current prospects for world cereal production point to a third successive year of moderate growth, with FAO’s first forecast for the world cereal output in 2021 now pegged at nearly 2 821 million tonnes (including rice in milled equivalent), a new record and 1.9 percent above the outturn in 2020. The bulk of this year’s foreseen growth relates to maize, with output anticipated up 3.7 percent from 2020. Global wheat production is also expected to increase, up 1.4 percent year on year, while rice production is set to go up by 1.0 percent. World cereal utilization in 2021/22 is expected to expand by 1.7 percent, to a new peak of 2 826 million tonnes. Total cereal food consumption is forecast to rise in tandem with world population, resulting in a stable annual per capita level of 150 kg. As for animal feed use of cereals, similar to 2020/21, a notable feature is an anticipated continued growth in the use of wheat for feed, which is seen to rise to 156 million tonnes, still well below the level of coarse grains, forecast at 895 million tonnes. Based on current production and utilization forecasts for 2021/22, world cereal stocks at the close of crop seasons ending in 2022 are anticipated to increase, but by only 0.3 percent, to 811 million tonnes. The expected small rise in the level of world cereal inventories, which follows three consecutive seasons of declines, may not be sufficient to prevent a further drop in the stocks-to-use ratio, which is forecast to fall from 28.6 percent in 2020/21 to 28.1 percent in 2021/22. While FAO’s first forecast for world trade in cereals in 2021/22 indicates an increase of only 0.3 percent from the high level estimated for 2020/21, much will depend on the volume of cereals to be imported by China. Word cereal trade in 2020/21 is seen to expand by as much as 6.3 percent, reaching a peak level of 468 million tonnes. Most of this sharp increase, however, reflects surges in imports of cereals by China, which are expected to rise by 30 million tonnes (123 percent) from the previous season.
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