Key Messages
In West Africa, staple food markets were well supplied in October with carryover stocks and early grain, tuber, and legume harvests. Staple food prices were stable or declining, except in deficit areas of Niger, Chad, and Mauritania and conflict-affected areas of northeastern Nigeria. The Ebola outbreak has led to both official and voluntary restrictions on the movement of goods and people in affected countries, resulting in atypical market trends in some areas.
In East Africa, maize prices continued to decline in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and surplus-producing areas of Ethiopia and Somalia as supplies from harvests and regional trade flows improved market availability. Staple food prices were stable at high levels in conflict-affected areas of eastern and northern South Sudan ahead of upcoming harvests, but declined parts of Somalia and Sudan where early grain harvests were underway. Conflict, insecurity, and seasonal road condition deterioration continued to disrupt markets in parts of South Sudan, Somalia, and the Darfur and South Kordofan States in Sudan.
In Southern Africa, regional staple food availability remains higher than previous years. Harvests from the 2013/14 production year were well-above average in the region’s surplus-producing countries. Maize prices remained atypically stable or continued seasonally increasing in October and were below their respective 2013 levels.
Market supplies increased with recent Primavera harvests in Haiti (June-August) and Primera harvests in Central America (July-August). Red bean prices reached record-high prices in many areas of Central America in 2014, and began increasing again in October after stabilizing briefly in September. In Haiti, black bean prices increased due to below-average Primavera harvests. Maize prices followed seasonal trends in October, while local and imported rice prices remained stable throughout the region.
In Central Asia, wheat availability remained good region-wide in October. Prices were stable, but above average.
International rice, wheat, maize, and soybean prices were stable in October. Global production for most key commodities reached record or near record levels this year, making for very well supplied global markets. Crude oil prices declined sharply in October and reached a four-year low.