FAO raised its forecast for world cereal production in 2016 to 2 543 million tonnes, just 0.7% below the record level of 2014.

According to the updated Summary of offers cereals and cereal demand, the new figure for the production of wheat and maize at 17 million tonnes higher than was reported in may, reflecting the revision of the forecasts for the production of wheat and corn in major producing countries.

As expected, the global consumption of grain in the current marketing year will be 2 million tons 546 - revision in the direction of a slight decrease in comparison with the may forecast.

At the same time, the forecast of world grain stocks was increased to 642 million tonnes, which is almost two million tonnes lower than their record levels. This was due to a historical revision of the stocks of wheat of China.

The volume of world grain trade, according to forecasts, will decrease on 1,9% in comparison with the previous year to 369 million tons. The reduction is likely to lead to increased competition for market share among major exporters - a factor that could keep international prices in check, said FAO.