FAO: Agri-food sector resilient in face of COVID-19

While food markets will face uncertainty in coming months because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the agri-food sector is likely to show more resilience than other sectors, according to a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been felt — at varying degrees — across all food sectors assessed by FAO,” said Boubaker Ben-Belhassen, director of the FAO Trade and Markets Division. “Whilst COVID-19 has posed a serious threat to food security, overall, our analysis shows that from the global perspective, agricultural commodity markets are proving to be more resilient to the pandemic than many other sectors. That said, owing to the size of the challenge and the enormous uncertainties associated with it, the international community must remain vigilant and ready to react, if and when necessary.”

The FAO’s Food Outlook report forecasts production and market trends in 2020-21 for the world’s most traded food commodities — cereals, oil crops, meat, dairy, fish and sugar.

In spite of uncertainties posed by the pandemic, the FAO’s first forecasts for the 2020-21 season point to a comfortable cereal supply and demand situation. Early prospects suggest global cereal production in 2020 surpassing the previous year’s record by 2.6%.

World cereal trade in 2020-21 is projected to stand at 433 million tonnes, up 2.2% (9.4 million tonnes) from 2019-20, and setting a new record high, boosted by expected expansions in trade of all major cereals.