FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 06/01 - CAMBODIA (25 May)
Good weather conditions favoured harvesting of the secondary dry season paddy, which is now drawing to a close. The output of this crop is expected to exceed the 735 000 tonnes projected earlier this year due to increased plantings. Recent reports indicate that area planted to dry season paddy has increased this year to around 260 000 hectares, 4 percent higher than last year and some 50 000 hectares more than the average of the previous 10 years. Planting of the main wet season paddy is expected to start with the arrival of the monsoon rains in June. The main crop accounts for about 80 percent of the total rice crop with the rest coming from the second dry rice production. Assuming normal growing conditions, early indications point to a favourable outlook for the 2001 aggregate paddy crop.
Despite the overall satisfactory food supply situation, the impact of the serious flooding last September is still being felt in the affected communities where food assistance is still required.