GIEWS FPMA Bulletin #9, 11 December 2019

Abstract

International prices of wheat generally rose in November although large global supplies capped the increases, those of maize also increased except in the United States of America, where they softened amid a slow pace in export sales. International prices of rice fell to six-month lows, pressured by new crop arrivals and sluggish demand.

In Southern Africa, food prices continued to climb steeply in Zimbabwe amidst an economic crisis. Elsewhere, tight supplies and weak currencies continued to exert upward pressure on cereal prices, which were significantly higher on a yearly basis and at record highs in several countries.

In East Africa, prices of coarse grains generally increased in November and reached high levels on a yearly basis, with seasonal trends compounded by reduced harvests in several countries and by a difficult macroeconomic situation in the Sudan and South Sudan.

In CIS Asia, prices of wheat flour in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan continued to record atypical increases in November, underpinned by higher price quotations in the regional export market.