FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 04/00 - ARMENIA* (3 April)
The target for the 2000 grain (cereal and pulse) harvest is 315 000 tonnes. However, indications are that the winter crop area has been further reduced in response to uncompetitive yields and higher fuel prices. The 1999 grain harvest is officially estimated at 301 000 tonnes, some 8 percent less than the 326 000 tonnes harvested in 1998. Wheat output declined to 210 000 tonnes, mainly reflecting import competition and below-normal autumn and winter precipitation.
In 1999/2000 the cereal import requirement is estimated at nearly 370 000 tonnes, including 350 000 tonnes of wheat. Against this requirement food aid pledges of 87 000 tonnes have been made. The balance is expected to be imported commercially.
Despite increasing per caput GDP in recent years, household purchasing power remains low and at times insufficient to cover the cost of the minimum consumption basket. Living standards, as measured by protein intake, declined somewhat in 1999 reflecting the decrease in workers remittances from the Russian Federation. As a result, average household expenditure on food reached 67 percent in 1999 compared to 57 percent in 1998. In total, some 170 000 vulnerable people will be covered by WFP food assistance, including some 110 000 refugees and vulnerable persons being provided with relief food aid, while 60 000 will be reached through community based food-for-work activities, supporting economic and social development. The programme is planned for three years and will be reviewed annually.
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