FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 04/99 - ERITREA* (1 April)
Preliminary estimates of 1998 grain crops, harvested at the end of last year, point to a record production of 458 000 tonnes of cereals and 33 000 tonnes of pulses, substantially above the previous year's level. As a result, import requirements in 1999 have declined by two-thirds from 1998 to 109 000 tonnes, mainly in the form of wheat for urban areas.
While the overall food supply situation has improved with the bumper harvest, the food position remains very tight for people in border areas of Gash-Barka and Debub affected by the war with Ethiopia since May 1998. Under an Emergency Operation recently approved by FAO and WFP, international food aid assistance will be distributed to 268 000 of the most affected population, including 246 500 displaced and 21 500 deportees from Ethiopia for a period of nine months starting in April.
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