Highlights Countries in this issue: - International prices of wheat decreased for the third consecutive month but those of rice continue to increase. Maize prices declined marginally. - In Eastern Africa, cereal prices are at generally high levels with new peaks reached in several countries. - In Western and Southern Africa, prices of coarse grains remained overall low despite some seasonal increases. - In Far East Asia, domestic prices of rice and wheat are moving upward. - In CIS countries, prices of wheat remained virtually unchanged despite ongoing harvests.

Global cereal output in 2001 is provisionally estimated at 1 880 million tonnes (including rice in milled terms), slightly up from the forecast in December and 1.2 percent up on the previous year. However, with global cereal utilization in 2001/02 still forecast to be well above this level at 1 935 million tonnes, the global cereal stocks will be drawn down significantly.

While overall food supply prospects for 2002 are more favourable than in the past two years, millions of people in developing countries still need emergency food assistance due