India Environment Portal Knowledge for change

About us Contact us
downtoearth-subscribe

Browse by subjects

Dwindling stocks

  • 14/04/2008

Enlarge view
FAO predicts that foodgrain prices will rise for another 10 years. For most cereals supplies are much tighter than in recent years, while demand is rising for food as well as feed and industrial use. Stocks, which were already low at the start of the season, are likely to remain equally low because global cereal production may only be sufficient to meet expected world utilization. Although the world cereal production in 2007-08 is estimated to have gone up by 5 per cent, most of it is attributed to a sharp increase in maize, the main foodgrain used for biofuel.

Wheat

Closing stock (2007-08): 142.6 mln tonnes; slightly down from last year; Current price (Feb): US $449/tonne; 115% up

Trends
In February 2008, wheat prices rose by 15 per cent due to record low stocks and poor winter-wheat crop prospects in southwest us and northern China.Between December 2005 and December 2007, wheat prices jumped from us $167 per tonne to us $381 per tonne.

The current global wheat stocks are estimated the lowest since 1982

Related Content