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The World Bank has released its Food Price Watch for February, citing estimates that suggest an additional 44 million people may have fallen into poverty in low- and middle-income
countries due to the rise in food prices since June 2010. The overall global rise in food prices has been driven by increases in the prices of wheat, maize, sugar, and fats and oils. (Track the rise in global commodities prices and futures prices with agricultural commodities tools )

The USDA Economic Research Service has released its February 2011 reports for wheat, rice, and soybean outlooks. These reports can help inform policy makers of important current issues involving food security, farming, natural resources, and global markets.

Download the February reports below. For more information regarding the USDA ERS reports, visit http://www.ers.usda.gov/

Files:

Corn_Feb_2011.pdf
Oil_Crops_Feb_2011.pdf
Rice_Feb_2011.pdf
Wheat_Feb_2011.pdf

Climate change poses both challenges and opportunities for sustainable agricultural growth, particularly in the developing world. As was witnessed during the 2010 droughts in Russia and floods in Pakistan, major climatic events can have significant negative impacts on agricultural markets, forcing global food prices higher and threatening the world’s food security.

As climate change continues to present new constraints to traditional agriculture, appropriate responses will require complementary policies at the farm-, country-, and global levels.

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

Files:

How is a country affected by changes in the world price of the commodities that it exports and imports? What is the effect on prices when a country’s food supply is increased by the release of stocks? What is driving changes in world commodity prices, and how do trends for one commodity compare with trends for another?