LatAm cereals output up 20 percent in 2017: FAO

SANTIAGO, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Latin America's cereals production grew 20 percent in 2017, compared with a year ago, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Monday.

According to a report issued by the agency's office in Santiago, the region produced 259 million tons of cereals this year.

Record corn production in Argentina and Brazil is credited with boosting the year's output, the report said.

South America is poised to produce a record 162.5 million tons of corn thanks to Argentina (49.5 million tons) and Brazil (99.4 million tons), said the FAO.

However, the report warns that Caribbean hurricanes could have reduced that area's general agricultural yields, leading to a negative impact on food security in regional countries, especially Haiti, where "food insecurity is severe."

In Central America and the Caribbean, total cereals production will remain above average, the FAO predicts.

Wheat output, meanwhile, will see a dip compared with last year, said the FAO, reaching 26.5 million tons, or 9.2 percent less than 2016, mainly due to lower production in Argentina and Brazil. Enditem