Photo Credit: Nahuel Berger / World BankBy Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla, Senior Research Fellow and Head of IFPRI's Latin America and Caribbean Program
Photo Credit: Mitchell Maher/IFPRIThe FAO’s monthly report on food price trends was released this week. The bulletin reports on recent food price developments over the past month at the global, regional, and country levels, with a focus on developing countries, and provides early warnings for high country-level food prices that may negatively affect food security.
Photo Credit: Neil Palmer/CIATThe latest editions of the FAO Food Price Index and the AMIS Market Monitor were recently released.
Photo Credit: Paul AnchetaWhile progress has been made in reducing global poverty over the last two decades, about one billion people still live in poverty, according to the latest World Bank estimate. In addition, according to FAO, over 800 million people suffer from hunger, while more than two billion people suffer from macronutrient deficiencies, or “hidden hunger”. IFPRI’s 2016 Global Hunger Index reports that 50 countries continue to have “serious” or “alarming” hunger levels, with the most affected areas in Africa south of the Sahara and South Asia.
Photo Credit: Neil Palmer (CIAT)According to the May WASDE report, total global wheat production is projected at 737.8 million tons, the second highest total on record. Projections for global wheat consumption declined slightly this month, with increased food use being offset by reduced feed use. Global ending stocks are up from 2016-2017, at a record 258.3 million tons. U.S. ending stocks, on the other hand, are projected to decline 245 million bushels to 914 million, the lowest in three years.
