FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 06/99 - ISRAEL (5 June)
The outlook for the 1999 wheat crop, being harvested, is unfavourable due to severe drought conditions that also affected several other countries in the region. In April, the Government officially declared 1999 a drought year and introduced a 40 percent cut in water allocations to farmers. Thousands of hectares under wheat were reported damaged. In 1998, wheat output was estimated at 168 000 tonnes, about 6 percent above average.
Imports of cereals in 1999/2000 (July/June) are forecast at some 2.6 million tonnes, similar to the previous year.