Browse Data and Analysis

This is a regional report on West Africa that primarily covers Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Mali, but also provides brief overviews in certain sections for Niger, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritania.

Zambia’s production of its staple crop, corn, is expected to drop by more than 50 percent in marketing year 2024/25, due to extended dry spells associated with the El Niño event. Almost a million hectares of corn have been destroyed by the drought that forced the Zambian President to declare a “National Disaster and Emergency”.

Zambia’s production of its staple crop, corn, is expected to grow by 23 percent to 3.3 million metric tons (MMT) in marketing year (MY) 2023/24, mainly due to an upsurge in planted area.

The Black Sea region is a significant supplier of agricultural commodities to the world. Over the past year, global grain and oilseed markets have been roiled by the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine.

Despite lower production in marketing year (MY) 2022/23, Zambia’s production of its staple crop, corn, will be sufficient to meet domestic demand. Zambia’s corn crop is forecast to decline by 25 percent to 2.7 million metric tons (MMT) in MY 2022/23, after producing a record crop 3.6 MMT in MY 2021/22.

Executive Summary Global fertilizer prices are at near record levels and may remain elevated throughout 2022 and beyond. Fertilizer prices account for nearly one-fifth of U.S. farm cash costs, with an even greater share for corn and wheat producers...

Rice production in Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Mali is forecast at 8.02 million metric tons (MMT) in MY 2022/23 on average weather, improved irrigation, and enhanced stability in production areas. The 15 percent jump from MY 2021/22 follows a growing season that was plagued by poor weather, militant activity and instability in Mali, and irrigation issues and pest prevalence in Senegal.

A number of factors have converged over the last 18 months to send global agricultural commodity prices to near-record levels. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and the potential loss of Ukrainian exports – was the latest development to push commodity prices higher.

Russian invasion of Ukraine is expected to significantly affect Thai agriculture. Agricultural production costs are expected to increase 7-13 percent in livestock production and 10-17 percent in field crops due to the surge in prices of feed-quality grains and fertilizers.

Black Sea regional producers Ukraine and Russia are significant suppliers to India of nitrogen and potassic fertilizers utilized in agricultural production. FAS New Delhi sources indicate that a short supply of potassic fertilizers is unlikely to affect agricultural production prospects in the upcoming crop year in the major food grain belt of northwest India and the Indo Gangetic plains.

Since initiating the hostilities, Vladimir Putin’s Russian Federation’s war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine has led to volatility in different sectors of the global economy. For India and the region, trade is disrupted in the grains, oilseeds, fertilizer, and energy sectors.

Zambia produced its largest corn crop on record in the 2021/22 MY. This bumper corn crop of 3.6 million tons follows on Zambia’s third largest corn crop of 3.4 million tons produced in the 2020/21 MY.