What's New

Wheat takes center stage in the May issue of FAO's Monthly News Report on Grains , released this week.

According to an article from Bloomberg, Russia is expected to see a record grain crop this year after the warmest winter on record and plentiful spring rains; the wheat crop is expected to reach 63.3 million tons of wheat, the second largest harvest after 2008.

Agriculture, food prices, and food and nutrition security have long played an important role in the G7 and G20 meetings. The following links provide a timeline of some of the most important agriculture- and food-related decisions to come out of these meetings since 2011.

G7 Leaders's Declaration on Food Security

Paris G20 Action Plan on Food Price Volatility and Agriculture

Mexico G20 Agriculture Vice Ministers/Deputies Report

Australia G20 Framework on Food Security and Nutrition

Turkey G20 Agriculture Ministers' Communique

Trade was the major theme in January's Monthly News Report on Grains , released earlier this week. Changes in several countries' export and import policies and volumes were reported.

International cereal prices remain significantly below last year’s levels due to abundant global supplies and strong export competition, says the latest Food Price Monitoring and Analysis Bulletin from FAO. The benchmark US wheat price was $214 per tonne in January, while the benchmark US maize price averaged $161 per tonne in January. Rice prices were slightly more varied depending on their origin; prices rose slightly for Thai 100%B white rice but fell for rice from Vietnam, India, and the US. These trends echo findings from this month’s FAO Food Price Index .

The Doha Development Agenda has long been a stumbling block for WTO trade talks. The Bali WTO made some headway in addressing the agriculture and food security-related issues that have held up previous agreements, but much remains to be done. The following links provide detailed analysis of both the Doha Development Round's history and the Bali Ministerial talks.