AGL 40.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.02%)
AIRLINK 127.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.99 (-0.77%)
BOP 6.68 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (1.21%)
CNERGY 4.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-2.39%)
DCL 8.60 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.42%)
DFML 41.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-0.43%)
DGKC 86.71 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.15%)
FCCL 32.16 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.06%)
FFBL 64.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.72 (-1.1%)
FFL 10.29 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.39%)
HUBC 109.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.98 (-0.89%)
HUMNL 14.90 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (1.02%)
KEL 5.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-1.56%)
KOSM 7.40 Increased By ▲ 0.28 (3.93%)
MLCF 41.39 Decreased By ▼ -0.26 (-0.62%)
NBP 60.60 Increased By ▲ 0.51 (0.85%)
OGDC 190.00 Decreased By ▼ -4.69 (-2.41%)
PAEL 27.81 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-0.5%)
PIBTL 7.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.25 (-3.13%)
PPL 149.75 Decreased By ▼ -1.42 (-0.94%)
PRL 26.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.56%)
PTC 16.18 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (1.13%)
SEARL 86.02 Increased By ▲ 7.82 (10%)
TELE 7.72 Increased By ▲ 0.33 (4.47%)
TOMCL 35.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.25%)
TPLP 8.14 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (2.91%)
TREET 16.51 Increased By ▲ 0.62 (3.9%)
TRG 53.35 Increased By ▲ 0.59 (1.12%)
UNITY 26.28 Decreased By ▼ -0.27 (-1.02%)
WTL 1.26 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.79%)
BR100 9,889 Decreased By -31.1 (-0.31%)
BR30 30,611 Decreased By -140.9 (-0.46%)
KSE100 93,355 Increased By 130.9 (0.14%)
KSE30 28,931 Increased By 46 (0.16%)

Global wheat prices will probably fall from record levels this year as production expands, but depleted global stocks will lend some strength, a UN grain economist said on Wednesday.
"We expect prices to come down, but all indications point to the fact we won't go back to the low prices we've seen in the past," Abdolreza Abbassian of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation told Reuters at a conference in the Sinai resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.
"The tight situation will be slightly improved in 2008/2009." The price of wheat, the world's most exported grain, has hit record highs due to drought, rising food demand and increased use of grains as environmentally friendly biofuels. Producers such as Russia and Ukraine have restricted exports to battle inflation fuelled by rocketing food prices, helping to further push up prices on the international market.
Abbassian said high prices would boost planting this season, but with global wheat stocks at 30-year lows, more production would not be enough to knock down prices significantly. "Stocks have been depleted so much it will take more than one season to rebuild," he said.
Global wheat production could climb as much as 6-8 percent in 2008 with the total area planted for wheat rising by up to 2 percent, assuming normal weather, Abbassian said.
He said the European Union, the United States and Australia, which could boost production by 13 million tonnes this season depending on weather, would lead the global production increase. "It's still very early, but it's possible Australia could regain its status as an exporter and even have a record harvest," he said.
The United States could boost production by 4 million tonnes, Abbassian said. Prices for coarse grains would also fall, helped by a rise in production of between 1 and 2 percent in 2008, he said.

Copyright Reuters, 2008

Comments

Comments are closed.