FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 06/01 - JORDAN (25 May)
Harvesting of the 2001 wheat and barley crops is underway. Prospects are poor due to a prolonged drought that delayed sowing and unusually high temperatures, about 10 degrees C above average. Recent forecasts indicate an aggregate wheat and barley output of about 45 000 tonnes, nearly similar to last year’s well below average crop and about 40 percent below the average for the previous five years. This is the third consecutive year of below average cereal production due to drought. The livestock sector was also severely affected, with sheep farmers the hardest hit.