FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 10/00 - BANGLADESH (24 September)
In recent days, 35 000 hectares of rice and other crops were damaged by floods in several districts in the north west. With flood waters rising some 300 000 people have been evacuated, many from Chuadanga district, which was the worst affected.
Earlier in the first dekad of September, some 60 000 people were made homeless and several were killed by floods on Sandwip Island, situated 100 km off the mainland. The floods were caused by unusually high tidal waves in the Bay of Bengal. Problems of drinking water and food supplies are reported.
The main crop currently in the ground is the aman/monsoon paddy crop, which is normally planted in June/July for harvest in October. Although previously the crop was the largest of the country's three rice crops, in recent years the irrigated boro crop (planted in January for harvest in April/May) has gained in importance and is now almost similar in size. Earlier harvesting of the smallest aus rice crop was completed in July/August, with an output of 1.75 million tonnes. Current forecasts indicate that rice production in 2000/01 will be around 22.5 million tonnes, assuming a favourable boro crop next year. Of this, around 45 percent each will come from the aman and boro crops and 10 percent from aus rice. A combination of an increase in area planted, favourable weather and adequate input supplies, resulted in a bumper 1999/2000 rice production of 22.6 million tonnes, some 3 million tonnes above the previous year and some 23 percent above the 1995-1999 five year average.
Wheat production in 2000, however, was lower than target, which was partly attributed to delays in harvesting of the 1999 aman rice crop and excess residual soil moisture during the planting season. The area planted therefore was restricted to around 0.73 million hectares against a target of 0.87 million hectares. Favourable climatic conditions during the growing period, however, contributed to relatively better yields, which resulted in an output of around 1.7 million tonnes, some 9 percent above the five year average between 1995 and 1999. In 1999 the country produced a record wheat crop of 1.9 million tonnes.
The overall food situation remains satisfactory with adequate government food grain reserves. At the end of August 2000 there was a total of 1.29 million tonnes of grain in stock including some 690 000 tonnes of rice and 600 000 tonnes of wheat in the Public Food Grain Distribution System.
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