Despite unfavourable weather conditions at times, total global grains production (wheat, maize, barley, sorghum, oats, rye, millet, triticale and mixed grains) has reached unprecedented levels in recent years. Demand has soared to all-time peaks, with production exceeding 2 billion t in each of the past five seasons. This rise is largely driven by increasing food and animal feed consumption in Asia and Africa.
Despite strong demand, a more than ample supply has seen grains stocks accumulate sharply, passing 0.6 billion t for the first time at the end of 2016/2017 (aggregate of respective local marketing years). Amid a comfortable supply and demand position, global export prices have come under sustained pressure, sometimes touching 10 year lows.
