OECD, FAO predict decline growth in world food prices

NaijaAgroNet:

The duo of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) have predicted a decline in growth in the world food prices, reports NaijaAgroNet.

A joint press statement on the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2017-2026, informed NaijaAgroNet that the global food commodity prices are projected to remain low over the next decade compared to previous peaks, as demand growth in a number of emerging economies is expected to slow down and biofuel policies have a diminished impact on markets, according to the latest 10-year agricultural outlook published today by the OECD and FAO.

The Outlook also predicted that vegetable oils, sugar and dairy products are expected to be main provider of additional calories over next decade.

Equally, the Agricultural Outlook, NaijaAgroNet gathered indicated that the completed replenishment of cereal stocks by 230 million metric tonnes over the past decade, combined with abundant stocks of most other commodities, should also help limit growth in world prices, which are now almost back to their levels before the 2007-08 food price crisis.

The report foresees per capita demand for food staples remaining flat, except in least developed countries. Additional calories and protein consumption over the outlook period are expected to come mainly from vegetable oil, sugar and dairy products.

“Growth in demand for meat is projected to slow, with no new sources of demand projected to maintain the momentum previously generated by China,” part of the outlook showed.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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Sub-Saharan: OECD, FAO optimistic to end high agro price regimes

NaijaAgroNet:

The 20^th joint edition of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Food and Agriculture Orgaanisation (FAO) has shown optimistic of ending high price regime of agricultural products in the Sub-Saharan Africa, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The outlook published Monday and made available to NaijaAgroNet, projected that inflation-adjusted agricultural commodity prices will remain relatively flat overall in the coming decade. However, livestock prices are expected to rise relative to those for crops.

They noted that as incomes improve, especially in emerging economies, demand for meat, fish and poultry will demonstrate strong growth, stressing that this creates additional demand for feed, particularly from coarse grains and protein meals, causing their prices to rise prices relative to food staples such as wheat and rice.

The duo also noted that globally, the increased demand for food and feed for a growing and more affluent population is projected to be mostly met through productivity gains. Yield improvements are expected to account for about 80 percent of the increase in crop output.

In line with the baseline analysis made in the Outlook, under a "business as usual" scenario -- in which agricultural productivity grows at the current trend rate and no major action is taken to reduce hunger -- projected growth in food availability would result in a reduction in the number of undernourished people in the world from around 800 million now to under 650 million in 2025.

The analysis indicates that in sub-Saharan Africa the rate of undernourishment would decline an estimated 23 to 19 percent -- but because of rapid population growth the region would still account for a rising share of the world's population suffering from hunger.

This implies that without decisive steps to move away from business-as-usual, hunger would not be eradicated by 2030 - the global target recently adopted by the international community - and that decisive action is needed.

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FAOSTAT to provide a platform for food statistics

A screenshot of FAOSTAT

FAOSTAT, a new online interface designed to provide easy access to food and agricultural statistics was recently unveiled by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

The online platform according to a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet has data of 245 countries and 35 regions, and would cover data from 1961 till date.

The Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Labour Organization (ILO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), UN Statistics Division, World Bank and World Trade Organization (WTO) partnered FAO in developing the FAOSTAT portal.

Statistical analyses to be covered at the initial stage of the platform include trade, food balance sheets, food supply, population, prices, production, forestry, investment, resources and commodity balances, while greenhouse gases, food security and agri-environmental indicators are expected to be added over the next few months.

Yinka Awosanya/LS

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