According to the latest Crop Outlook and Food Situation report published every three years by FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS), ongoing and intensifying conflicts are worsening food insecurity, and the slowdown in international food prices is counteracting of weak currencies in many low-income countries.

A total of 46 countries worldwide, including 33 in Africa, are rated as in need from external food aid.

More than half of the residents of the Gaza Strip are estimated to be acutely food insecure as early as 2022, and an escalation of the conflict there will increase humanitarian and emergency aid needs, although access to affected areas remains a worrying problem, the FAO said, adding that the side effects of the conflict may worsen food insecurity in Lebanon as well.

In its cereal supply and demand report released last Friday, the FAO maintained its forecast for world cereal production in 2023 at 2,819 million tonnes, a record high.

The forecast is the world consumption of cereals in 2023/24 to reach 2,810 million tonnes, with total wheat consumption expected to exceed 2022/23 levels, while that of rice is expected to decline from the previous season's level.

Global trade in cereals in 2023/24 is forecast at 469 million tonnes, down 1.6 percent from the previous year.

While world cereal production is projected to grow by 0.9 percent in 2023 from the previous year, the growth rate will be half that rate for the group of 44 low-income food-deficient countries (LIFDC), noted in the report.

The report offers detailed information on food insecurity and price trends faced by people on the ground in affected countries. It also provides a detailed assessment of regional cereal production and trade prospects worldwide.