Washington, D.C., U.S. - World grain production fell, exacerbating a global food situation already plagued by rising prices, according to new research published by the Worldwatch Institute for its Vital Signs Online publication. Despite record rice and maize yields around the world, global wheat production dropped substantially enough to bring total grain output to just below 2008 levels, the institute said Tuesday.

Maize, wheat, and rice provide nearly two-thirds of the global human diet and serve as critical inputs for both animal feed and industrial products.

The significance of these crops guarantees that a decline in production will produce ripple effects throughout the global economy, particularly as increased food prices continue to take a toll on the world's neediest populations.

Overall, rice and wheat production have tripled since the 1960s, and maize production has quadrupled, despite global acreage of these crops increasing by only 35 percent.

'Production increased worldwide, but there was greater reliance on irrigation, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides----all of which take resources, can be costly, and may cause substantial environmental degradation,' said contributing researcher Richard Weil.

Nevertheless, preliminary data for 2011 indicate that grain production is recovering from the 2010 slump.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently forecast that cereal output in 2011-12 will be 3 percent higher than in 2010-11.

Rising demand for ethanol fuel, which in the US is produced almost exclusively from corn feedstock, is having an impact on grain prices as well.

Pana 29/11/2011