FAO: GLOBAL CEREAL OUTPUT HITS RECORD HIGH IN 2004

摘要

Global cereal production hit a record 2.04 billion tonnes in 2004, leading to an increase in grain stocks for the first time in five years, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on December 9 in the latest issue of its Food Outlook report. The FAO says the record cereal output should bring about a significant global cereal surplus for the first time since 2000 - "a positive development for world food security after sharp drawdowns in the past four years", according to the Rome-based Organisation. Grain boom, World grain stocks are forecast to rise to 441 million tonnes by the close of the 2004/05 season, the report says. Most of the latest upward revision of the world cereal production forecast results from a substantial increase forcoarse grains, particularly in the United States which saw a bumper harvest for maize in 2004. This, along with several other upward adjustments for the 2004 coarse grains crops still being gathered around the globe, including China, has added almost 48 million tonnes to the forecast since September, pushing the annual global increase in coarse grain production up to 8.5%.