EGYPT (22 October)
Harvesting of the 2004 maize and sorghum crops has been completed while that of paddy is well advanced. The output of the mainly irrigated wheat crop, harvested earlier in the year, is estimated at 7.18 million tonnes, up 5 percent from the above average production of 2003. Barley output is estimated to have almost doubled to a record 264 000 tonnes compared to the good crop harvested last year, driven mainly by a significant expansion in the area sown.
Wheat imports in marketing year 2004/05 (July/June) are expected to increase by some 3 percent to 6.6 million tonnes. Imports of maize, mostly used as animal feed, are forecast at about 4.7 million tonnes, about 200 000 tonnes more than the previous year.