Data

FAO’s third 2016 Crop Prospects and Food Situation Report was recently released. The report is published four times a year and provides a review of the food situation by geographic region and includes a section dedicated to the Low Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDC) and a list of countries requiring external assistance for food.

The FAO’s monthly report on food price trends was released last 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.

The latest edition of the AMIS market monitor, released on September 8, shows that the international price of wheat, maize, rice, and soybean has decreased since July. This decline has been driven by improved global crop prospects and plentiful export availabilities.

The August FAO Food Price Index increased by 3 points (1.9 percent) from July to 165.6 points reaching a 15 month high. This increase was predominantly driven by price increases in dairy, oils and sugar, though all commodities covered except for cereals experienced an increase.

The August Cereal Price index fell by 4.5 points and is currently 7.4 percent below its year earlier level. The completion of wheat harvests in the northern hemisphere placed downward pressure on wheat prices. Similarly, maize prices decreased due to excellent crop prospects in the United States.

The monsoon season in Southeast Asia extends from May through September. According to a special report from the FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS), this year's monsoon season has seen above-average rains, along with a series of typhoons and tropical storms from June through early August. These conditions have caused severe flooding in several of the Food Security Portal's prioritized countries , resulting in loss of life, displacement of large populations, damage to farms and infrastructure, and loss of livestock and stored food.