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Strong growth is expected for global wheat, coarse grains and rice production in 2013, according to early forecasts published in the May issue of FAO�s monthly Cereals Supply and Demand Brief. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says global wheat production in 2013 is expected to reach 695 million tonnes, up 5.4 percent from last year�s harvest assuming more normal weather conditions than in 2012. The UN food agency says coarse grains production is expected to set a new record at more than 1,266 million tonnes � up 9.3 percent on the previous high in 2011. Of this total, maize is forecast to account for about 960 million tonnes, some 10 percent up from 2012. The bulk of the increase is expected in the United States, the world�s largest producer, where maize plantings are forecast to reach their highest level since 1936. Recovery from drought in the major Commonwealth of Independent States producing countries should also contribute significantly to the record global production. Still tentatively, FAO foresees rice production in the forthcoming 2013 season to rise to close to 500 million tonnes, with particularly large increases expected in India and Indonesia.