World cereal production in 2023 is seen on track to hit an all-time record high of 2 836 million tonnes – up 1.2 percent from 2022, according to new forecasts in the latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, also released.

FAO’s forecast for world cereal production in 2023 has been revised upward by 13.2 million tonnes (0.5 percent) this month and is set to reach a record high of 2 836 million tonnes. This represents a 1.2 percent (33.3 million tonnes) increase from the 2022 level. The revision is primarily the result of better-than-previously envisaged maize outputs in several key producing countries, while more modest upward revisions were made to the global barley and wheat production forecasts. The global coarse grain output is pegged at an all-time high of 1 523 million tonnes, following a 12-million-tonne upward adjustment this month. The bulk of the revision reflects new official data from Canada, China (mainland), Türkiye and the United States of America, where a combination of higher yields and larger harvested areas than previously expected has led to higher maize production estimates. The global barley output has also been raised, with changes mostly concentrated in Canada and the Russian Federation, while the world wheat production has been lifted by 1.4 million tonnes and now stands at 788.5 million tonnes in 2023, albeit still 2.2 percent lower year on year.

On the other hand,  the FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a set of globally-traded food commodities, averaged 118 points in January, down 1 percent from December and 10.4 percent from its corresponding value a year ago.