Food Outlook is published by the Trade and Markets Division of FAO under the Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS). It is a biannual publication focusing on developments affecting global food and feed markets. Each report provides comprehensive assessments and short term forecasts for production, utilization, trade, stocks and prices on a commodity by commodity basis and includes feature articles on topical issues. Food Outlook maintains a close synergy with another major GIEWS publication, Crop Prospects and Food Situation, especially with regard to the coverage of cereals.

Modern day Malthusians warn that Malthus will ultimately be right: the world will be less and less able to feed itself as populations keep expanding and crop yields seem to have reached a peak. The authors of this volume believe that this pessimism is misplaced, and that there is in fact no worldwide food crisis. On the contrary, they show that the world food situation has improved dramatically over the past three decades: prices of agricultural commodities are at their lowest level in history in real terms and crop output is continuing to rise faster than population. This book provides a much needed and reasoned view on a subject that is too often treated emotionally. The important changes in the international food economy are considered in historical context and provide a basis for projections to 2010. The situation should continue to improve and food should become cheaper than it is today.

In view of the soaring input prices,concerns about the weather, and increased market uncertainties stemming from the war in Ukraine, FAO’s latest forecasts point to a likely tightening of food markets in 2022. Meanwhile, the global food import bill is on course to hit a new record high of USD 1.8 trillion, an all-time high, almost entirely on account of higher prices. Issued twice a year, Food Outlook offers FAO’s reviews of market supply and demand trends for the world’s major foodstuffs, including cereals, oilcrops, sugar, meat and dairy and fish. It also looks at trends in futures markets and shipping costs for food commodities. The new edition also contains two special chapters examining the role of rising prices for agricultural inputs, such as fuel and fertilizers, and the risks the war in Ukraine poses for global food commodity markets. Food Outlook is published by the Markets and Trade Division of FAO as part of the Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS). Food Outlook maintains a close synergy with another major GIEWS publication, Crop Prospects, and Food Situation, especially with regard to the coverage of cereals. Food Outlook is available in English. The summary section is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish.

Food markets will face many more months of uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, while most markets are braced for a major global economic downturn, the agri-food sector is likely to display more resilience to the crisis than other sectors. Food Outlook is published by the Trade and Markets Division of FAO under Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS). It is a biannual publication focusing on developments affecting global food and feed markets. Each report provides comprehensive assessments and short term forecasts for production, utilization, trade, stocks and prices on a commodity by commodity basis and includes feature articles on topical issues. Food Outlook maintains a close synergy with another major GIEWS publication, Crop Prospects and Food Situation, especially with regard to the coverage of cereals. Food Outlook is available in English. The summary section is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. Special features COVID-19: From a global health crisis to a global food crisis? Comparing the current crisis, the “Great Lockdown” with the last major crisis, the “Great Recession”, this feature article identifies differences and communalities across countries and commodities. It provides an informative benchmark on how to return market functioning to normality, even if contagion rates remain unchecked. Revisions to the FAO food price indices From July 2020, the FAO Food Price Index and Global Food Consumption Price Indices will be re-based to the period of 2014-16, with improvements made to both their price coverage and representativeness. This feature article describes the main revisions and how they affect the movements of the indices.

The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2020-2029 is a collaborative effort of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, incorporating expertise from collaborating member countries and international commodity organisations. It provides market projections for national, regional and global supply and demand of major agricultural commodities, biofuel and fish.

The Agricultural Outlook 2021-2030 is a collaborative effort of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. It brings together the commodity, policy and country expertise of both organisations as well as input from collaborating member countries to provide an annual assessment of the prospects for the coming decade of national, regional and global agricultural commodity markets. The publication consists of 11 Chapters; Chapter 1 covers agricultural and food markets; Chapter 2 provides regional outlooks and the remaining chapters are dedicated to individual commodities.

FAO’s latest forecasts point to increases in production and higher stocks across several basic foodstuffs. However, global food production systems remain vulnerable to shocks, stemming from weather conditions, geopolitical tensions and policies, potentially tipping the delicate demand-supply balances, with implications for global food security. Issued twice a year, the November issue of the Food Outlook offers market summaries of FAO’s reviews of market supply and demand trends for the world’s major foodstuffs, namely cereals, oilcrops, sugar, meat, dairy and fish. It also looks at trends in food import bills, Ocean freight rates, international food prices and futures markets. The Markets and Trade Division of FAO, as part of the Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS), produces and publishes the Food Outlook to enhance transparency in global food markets. Concerning global cereal markets, the Food Outlook maintains a close synergy with the quarterly GIEWS publication Crop Prospects and Food Situation. Food Outlook is available in English. The summary section is available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish.