Since 2005, a series of unfavourable weather episodes in major producing countries has combined with reduced levels of investment and stockholding to generate sudden increases in international prices. Increases in non-food uses of cereals, such as the use of cereal feedstocks in the fuel ethanol sector, have put additional pressure on prices, while creating incentives to increase production.
CHART 57: Per capita rice production (2000-2010)
The geographical concentration of major grain supplies versus the geographical dispersion of demand suggests that trade will continue to be important in fulfilling grain requirements, particularly for wheat and maize. With most production located in the temperate zones of developed countries, increasing requirements in developing economies have increased the dependence on exports of these countries.
Africa
Asia
Oceania
Americas
Europe
World
150
The bulk of world rice production is destined for food use, although some is used in domestic animal feeding. Rice is the primary staple for more than half the world’s population, with Asia representing the largest producing and consuming region. In recent years, rice has also become an important staple throughout Africa. More of the earth’s surface is covered by wheat than by any other food crop. Wheat production is the third largest cereal production in the world, after maize and rice. In terms of dietary intake, however, wheat comes second to rice as a main food crop, given the more extensive use of maize as animal feed.
kg/cap
100
While rice is produced in vast areas of the world, the physical requirements for growing it are limited to certain zones. Economically viable cultivation typically requires high average temperatures during the growing season, abundant supplies of water applied in a timely manner, smooth land surfaces to facilitate uniform flooding and drainage, and a subsoil stratum that inhibits the percolation of water.
50
0 2000
2004
2006
2008
2010
Source: FAO, Statistics Division (FAOSTAT).
CHART 58: Per capita wheat production (2000-2010)
Wheat is a hardy crop that can grow in a wide range of environmental conditions and that permits large-scale cultivation and long-term storage, making it key to the emergence of urban societies for millennia. Currently, about 65 percent of the wheat crop is used for food, 17 percent for animal feed, and 12 percent in industrial applications, including biofuels.
Africa
Asia
Oceania
Americas
Europe
World
800
600
kg/cap
Growth in global wheat consumption has been facilitated by imports, particularly into developing countries, including both the many tropical non-wheat producing countries and those where increasing land and water constraints hinder production growth.
2002
400
200
0 2000
2002
2004
2006
Source: FAO, Statistics Division (FAOSTAT).
132
2008
2010