MYANMAR (9 February)
Some 200 villages in the southern coast and relying on fishing have been hard hit by the tsunami. It is estimated that more than 60 people have died and over 3 200 people from 638 households displaced. The worst affected areas are the Laputta Township in the Ayeyawaddy Division, inhabited by poor subsistence farmers and fishing families. Direct economic damage is estimated at US$180 000-US$250 000. International food aid has been targeted to some 30 000 worst affected people. However, the damage to the country’s rice crop by the Indian Ocean tsunami is very limited.
Harvesting of 2004 main season rice crop was completed in December last year. The secondary crop currently in the ground is due for harvest from mid-March. The 2004 paddy production is estimated at 22 million tonnes, some 4 percent below the record production last year. However, this level is still about 1 percent higher than the average of the previous five years. Wheat and maize output in 2004 are estimated at 107 000 tonnes and 574 000 tonnes, respectively. Reflecting steady increases in paddy production in the last several years, the overall cereal supply situation is satisfactory in the country.