World wheat production in 2012 will be the second highest on record at 690 million tonnes, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Thursday.

In its quarterly report of Crop Prospects and Food Situation, FAO said wheat production in 2012 would be slightly lower than the record harvest of 700 million tonnes last year. But the 2012 output is still well above the average of the past five years.

Although wheat crops were sewn or were expected to be sewn to more areas in many countries this year in response to continuing strong prices, a return to normal yields is expected in areas where record highs were achieved last year, said the report.

The report said it was still too early for a global forecast of the production of cereal, which consists of wheat, rice and maize.

The cereal import bill of low-income food-deficit countries is expected to climb to a record level of 32.62 billion U.S. dollars this year, mainly due to a declining production and rising import requirements in major importing countries.

The report also noted that international cereal prices are on the rise again after a sharp drop at the end of last year, possibly due to the tightening of wheat supplies and concerns over the impact of severe cold weather in Europe.