Global cereal supplies continue to be tight

Friday, 14 November 1997

By FWi staff

GLOBAL cereal supplies – forecast to reach a record 1.9 billion tonnes – will only just meet needs, claims a special report published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

Replenishment of much-reduced cereal stocks will have to wait at least another year and will depend on another good crop, according to the Food Outlook report.

It forecasts cereal use to grow by 2% in 1997/98, reflecting a modest increase in human cereal consumption, and a continuation of last years strong growth in cereals as livestock feed.

But the growth of agriculture could slow down markedly compared to consumption. Global production for 1997 could rise by as little as 1.1%, the report says.