GLOBAL INFORMATION AND EARLY WARNING SYSTEM ON FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
‘Foodcrops and Shortages’ to Be Published Today
(Reissued as received.)
ROME, 19 June (Food and Agriculture Organization) -– FAO’s “Foodcrops and Shortages” will be published on the FAO Web site at 12 noon CET, Thursday, 19 June.
The URL for “Foodcrops and Shortages”on the Web is: http://www.fao.org/giews/english/fs/fstoc.htm.
Highlights from the June 2003 issue of “Foodcrops and Shortages” are not for use before 12 noon CET 19 June.
AFRICA:� In eastern Africa, the food situation is grave in Ethiopia and Eritrea where the number of people in need of food assistance now stands at 12.5 million and 2.3 million respectively.� With the lean season just beginning, more food-aid pledges and faster delivery are urgently required.� In southern Africa, Zimbabwe faces acute food shortages with some 5.5 million people in need of assistance.� In southern Mozambique some 950,000 people will require emergency food aid in 2003/04.� In western Africa, the food situation of a large number of people in Mauritania, Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire is of serious concern.
ASIA:� A serious humanitarian crisis persists in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.� In China, the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has significantly affected the country's economy and agriculture.� In Iraq, the outcome of the current crops is uncertain due to insecurity and shortages of spare parts for harvesting machinery.� In Afghanistan prospects are for an improved cereal harvest this year.� However, access to food remains a serious problem for a large number of people.� The food situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip continues to be grim due to disruptions caused by military operations.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN:� In Central America, food assistance continues to be provided in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua to rural families affected by the severe crisis in the coffee sector.� In South America, prospects are poor for the 2003 maize crop in Ecuador due to adverse weather at planting.� In Venezuela, the outlook is also poor for the coarse grain and paddy crops, mainly due to a shortage of farm inputs and scarce water availability, particularly for the paddy crop.
EUROPE:� A reduction in wheat output is forecast in the European Union in 2003 but outputs of other grains will change little compared to last year.� Reduced cereal outputs are expected in several of the CEECs because of unfavourable weather for some of the winter grains and for spring planting in parts.� Frost, thin snow cover and a late spring in the European CIS have compromised this year's cereal harvest.� The harvest throughout the European CIS is seen significantly lower than the harvest in the past few years.� In the Republic of Moldova a very tight food supply is envisaged, following a severely cold winter and dry spring.�
NORTH AMERICA:� Cereal production in both the United States and Canada is set to recover sharply from last year's drought-reduced levels.� Winter wheat is already being harvested in parts of the United States while planting of the spring/summer crops in the region has mostly been completed under satisfactory conditions.� According to latest forecasts, output could increase by almost 50 per cent in Canada and about 15 per cent in the United States.� In Canada, the bulk of the cereal crop has just been planted under generally satisfactory conditions.
OCEANIA:� Cereal planting and production in 2003 should rebound sharply after last year's severely reduced output.� Assuming a return to normal weather conditions after the El Niño-induced drought last year, the wheat crop is forecast to recover to 24 million tonnes, close to the record harvest in 2001.� Conditions for the winter grain planting have been generally satisfactory so far but in early June some areas were still waiting to receive sufficient planting rains.
For information, contact: � John Riddle, Information Officer, FAO, e-mail: John.riddle@fao.org, tel.: (+39) 06 570 53259.
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