The global cereal stocks will fall sharply again by the end of the 2003/2004 season, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Tuesday. The forecast came in the United Nations food agencys Food Outlook, a publication of the Global Information and Early Warning System. Closing inventories are expected to be down by 89 million tonnes, or 18 per cent from their opening levels.
The report anticipates an increase in food aid costs per unit in view of generally tighter world cereal supplies, strong international prices and soaring ocean freight rates for 2003/2004. It notes that total food aid shipments during this period could decline slightly.
Kilde: FN
