What's New

The Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) has released the third edition of its monthly Market Monitor . The report examines global agricultural market and price trends.

This third edition finds that the global supply and demand balance for wheat and maize continues to tighten; however, the balance for rice and soybeans is easing. Wheat forecasts have been impacted in recent weeks by unfavorable weather in several winter-wheat growing areas in the northern hemisphere. Conflicting reports regarding Ukraine's proposed wheat export ban have also complicated the market.

On November 4, the Bangladesh Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the USAID-funded Bangladesh Policy Research and Strategy Support Program (PRSSP) and IFPRI, launched a new program designed to fill gaps in knowledge surrounding the country's food security and agricultural sector. The Agricultural Policy Support Unit (APSU) will build capacity for critical policy research within the country and will provide evidence-based recommendations for short-term, medium-term, and long-term policies.

In its latest Monthly Food Price Watch, FEWS NET reports that global rice production for 2012/2013 is expected to be the highest on record. Global soybean production prospects also improved with a 10 percent increase for 2012/2013; however, strong global demand is expected to keep soybean and soybean oil prices high. While global wheat prices remain high, production is only expected to decline by six percent. However, trade policies in key wheat exporting countries could exert further pressure on prices.

Ukraine has announced that it will be enforcing an export ban on wheat beginning on November 15. The move comes after poor weather impacted Ukraine’s wheat harvests and follows in the wake of the US drought, which decimated that country’s wheat crop and led to sharp increases in international prices. Ukraine’s exports are expected to reach 5.3 million tons in November, a level which the Ukrainian government says will exhaust the country’s exportable surpluses.

Since 2009, the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) has driven the European Union's policies on biofuels. The RED's current mandate states that 10% of the EU’s transportation fuel must come from renewable sources by 2020; it also mandates that only 5.6% of this can come from first-generation biofuels (i.e., biofuels produced from food crops such as maize). On October 17, however, the EC released a new proposal that would significantly change these mandates and impact the production and use of first-generation biofuels throughout the EU.