PAKISTAN (26 October)
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale occurred on 8 October 2005 and killed more than 50 000 people, injured some 74 000 and made millions homeless (numbers still rising). Latest estimates indicate that over 2 million people need life-saving assistance, mainly winterised tents before winter sets in within the next 2-3 weeks. The UN has revised its earlier appeal and now requires nearly US$ 550 million for emergency assistance for six months.
Output of the 2005 wheat crop, harvested in June, is estimated at a record 21.1 million tonnes, reflecting the increased government minimum support prices, favourable weather, and availability of fertilizers and loans. Accordingly, the wheat import in 2005/06 is estimated to decline to 500 000 tonnes from last year’s 1.4 million tonnes.
Harvestings of Kharif rice is underway. The 2005 rice output is estimated at 5 million tonnes, slightly above last year’s record production, resulting from timely sowing, favourable weather, and availability of fertilizer and pesticides. Pakistan is a major exporter of rice and the 2005/06 export volume is forecast at 2.2 million tonnes.