FAO says global grain production will not depress food prices

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), international food prices have fallen significantly from their all-time highs two years ago, but wheat and corn prices rose in October, and rice export prices are still much higher than before the crisis.

FAO pointed out that despite the global food boom in 2009, food prices in poor countries remained high. Thirty-one poor countries need emergency assistance.

FAO said that the global food harvest would do nothing to reduce food prices in poor countries, and that for the poor, who spend 80 per cent of their spending on food, the food price crisis is not over.

Wheat production in North Africa has set a new record this year, which will not lead to a decline in the number of poor people in other regions. This situation is particularly acute in East Africa, where droughts and conflicts have left some 20 million people in need of food assistance.

In Asia, FAO warned that the outlook for rice production in 2009 had deteriorated since July, with weak monsoon rains in India and other countries and natural disasters in some areas.