The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has declared that the world is headed for record wheat production this season. With wheat, rice and potentially, after a bumper US soybean harvest, oilseeds all on track for record production, the Rome-based agriculture organisation said food markets are likely to remain “generally well balanced” over the coming year.

FAO said in a release on Thursday that “Record global production forecasts for this year's wheat and rice harvests, along with rebounding maize output, are helping keep inventories ample and prices low.”

Worldwide cereal production in 2016 is set to rise to 2,569 million tonnes, up 1.5 percent from 2015. FAO has wheat production pegged at 742.4 million tonnes this year, with India, the USA and Russia leading production increases; Russia is poised to overtake the EU as the world’s largest wheat exporter, according to FAO analysts. Projected wheat use is also set to jump, but FAO remains confident that the levels of production seen will keep supplies ample and prices low.

In fact, as a result of these rises, the total value of food imports is expected to fall by 11 percent in dollar terms this year. According to FAO, cereal-based foods and animal products will record falls that offset rising fruit and vegetable prices. However, less economically secure areas of the world, whose currencies are generally depreciating are likely to be slower to benefit from this state of affairs.

In its assessment, FAO said that demand for oilseeds is likely to outstrip supply, and that dairy production is likely to fall into line with demand after a long period of excess production.

However, despite the Organisation’s assessment of global trends, its monthly Food Price Index rose by 2.9 percent from August (making food prices 10 percent higher than they were this time last year).

Recovering dairy prices led the trend, rising as they did by 13.8 percent. Sugar prices were also up again, on the back of poor weather in Brazil, and palm oil and vegetable oil prices rose. Cereal prices slipped 1.9 percent from the previous month and 8.9 on the year.