FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 06/99 - MEXICO (12 June)
Extremely dry weather continues to prevail particularly in northern states. By the end of May, ten states had been declared disaster zones by the Government. In Sinaloa and Sonora, where about 40 percent of irrigated wheat is grown, water reservoirs are reported to be virtually dry. Water rationing has begun in some of the affected areas. Harvesting of the 1999 wheat crop is near completion and output is likely to be lower than the average. Dry conditions have also been reported in southern parts, with the exception of Puebla, Oaxaca and parts of Veracruz where moderate rains were received in May. Prospects are uncertain for the important spring/summer maize crop currently being planted unless normal rains resume. The outlook is poor for the 1999 sorghum crop, of which some 40 percent is grown in the drought affected north-eastern state of Tamaulipas. Livestock pastures have also been severely affected by the dry conditions and an increasing number of cattle losses is reported.
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