A United Nations food agency issued a forecast Friday of record levels of global cereal production this year but also said prices would remain high.
The increased output is good news given the steady rise in demand for grains, especially from China and India, which recently resulted in shortages and new export restrictions.
Despite the higher production levels, prices are still expected to remain high partly due to speculative pressures and market failures.
The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said production of cereals in 2008 would be around 2.18 billion tons _ the highest level ever and a 2.8 percent increase compared with last year.
The bulk of the increase is expected in wheat, which is forecast at 658 million tons, an 8.3 percent increase from 2007. Rice is also forecast to increase slightly from last year's good level, FAO said.
The agency said the increase was due to more wheat being planted worldwide, but tight supplies of maize in the United States was keeping prices of major cereals high.
Maize export prices have climbed to new highs in recent weeks, while prices of wheat remain about 40 percent higher than a year earlier.
The report also said 34 countries _ most of them in Africa _ were still in a critical situation regarding food, mostly due to conflict and adverse weather.
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