Area:
|
784 000 sq.km
|
Climate:
|
Tropical wet-dry; coast is semi-arid
|
Population:
|
19.09 million (1998 estimate); G.N.P. per caput: US$ 90 (1997)
|
Specific characteristics of the country:
|
Low-income food-deficit country; exposed to tropical storms and cyclones
|
Logistics:
|
Dilapidated rail and road transport fleet; lack of fuel and spares; poor roads; substantial
deliveries by coastal vessels; disruption by guerrillas
|
Major foodcrops:
|
Roots, tubers, maize
|
Marketing year:
|
March/April; Lean season: February-April
|
Share of cereals in total calorie intake:
|
53 percent
|
Conditions have so far been generally favourable for crop development in the south and the centre where rainfall has been abundant since October. The wet conditions resulted in flooding in several areas, including Gaza and Sofala provinces, causing localized damage to crops in low lying areas. Floods caused by torrential rains in late February particularly hit several districts of Inhambane Province, leaving some 23 people dead and over 70 000 affected. In these normally drought prone areas, an estimated 40 000 hectares of arable land were flooded while sections of the main north-south highway linking the country's two main cities of Maputo and Beira were under water for days or badly damaged. On 3 March, the Government launched an international appeal for assistance for a total of US$12.4 million, including food, seeds and agricultural tools as well as repair damages to the infrastructure. However, dry conditions prevailed until December in northern and north-eastern provinces (Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa Provinces), where the season normally starts later than the rest of the country. In late February, several areas in the north were still recording below-normal rainfall. In these cereal surplus producing areas, prospects for a good 1999 harvest are still favourable, provided sustained and widespread rains are received in the next few weeks.
The national food security situation for the 1998/99 marketing year is generally satisfactory. As a result of a steady increase in food production during the past several years, the country is now self-sufficient in maize, with exportable surpluses available for deficit countries in the sub-region. The import requirement in rice and wheat, estimated at 67 000 tonnes and 145 000 tonnes, respectively, will be met through private channels.
|
Wheat
|
Rice
|
Coarse grains
|
Total
| |
|
Normal Production
|
-
|
50
|
458
|
508
|
Normal Imports
|
102
|
60
|
244
|
406
|
of which: Structural food aid
|
102
|
52
|
140
|
294
|
|
1998/99 Domestic Availability
|
13
|
128
|
1 494
|
1 635
|
1998 Production (rice in paddy terms)
|
-
|
192
|
1 494
|
1 686
|
1998 Production (rice in milled terms)
|
-
|
128
|
1 494
|
1 622
|
Possible stock drawdown
|
13
|
-
|
-
|
13
|
|
1998/99 Utilization
|
158
|
195
|
1 494
|
1 847
|
Food Use
|
151
|
170
|
1 225
|
1 546
|
of which: local purchase requirement
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
Non-food use
|
7
|
15
|
172
|
194
|
Exports or Re-exports
|
-
|
-
|
59
|
59
|
Possible stock build up
|
-
|
10
|
38
|
48
|
|
1998/99 Import Requirement
|
145
|
67
|
-
|
212
|
Anticipated commercial imports
|
145
|
67
|
-
|
212
|
Food aid needs
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
Current Aid Position
|
||||
Food aid pledges
|
229
|
23
|
1
|
252
|
of which: Delivered
|
168
|
10
|
1
|
178
|
Donor-financed purchases
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
of which: for local use
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
for export
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
Estimated Per Caput Consumption (kg/Year)
|
8
|
9
|
64
|
81
|
Indexes
|
||||
1998 production as % of normal:
|
332
| |||
1998/99 import requirement as % of normal:
|
52
| |||
1998/99 food aid requirement as % of normal:
|
-
|
