What's New

When the World Trade Organization (WTO) was created in 1995, its members committed themselves to a set of disciplines for domestic support, market access, and export competition for agriculture. The Agreement on Agriculture paved the way for the pursuit of progressive reductions in world agricultural market distortions.

FEWS NET has released its monthly price watch for May 2011, citing relatively stable prices for wheat and maize in April.

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While agricultural trade policies are one factor affecting global food prices and price stability, they are not the only factor. Policies not directly related to trade can also have destabilizing effects if enacted by large countries and/or by a large number of small countries. Traditionally, focus has been put on agricultural policies and domestic support for developed countries’ farmers. Another strong example of this is the recent dramatic increase in pro-biofuels policies throughout both the developed and the developing world.

The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report provides monthly comprehensive forecasts of supply and demand for major U.S. and global crops, supplied by the USDA. Crops covered include wheat, coarse grains, rice, and oilseeds. This report can explain past and current global commodities trends, as well as predict trends for the coming year.

Download the full May report. For more information regarding the WASDE reports, visit http://www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/

The FAO Global Information and Early Warning System has released the latest Global Food Price Monitor, citing an increase in the FAO Cereal Price Index in April. Global prices of wheat and maize increased sharply last month, while global rice prices continued to decline.

Download the full report.