Foodcrops and shortages Global Information and Early Warning System on food and agriculture

HIGHLIGHTS

AFRICA: In southern Africa, food shortages are emerging in Zambia and in parts of Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique where localized crop failures were experienced. In eastern Africa, the overall harvest outlook is favourable except in parts of Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea where natural and man-made disasters have affected food production. In western and central Africa, harvest prospects are generally favourable due to good weather conditions. Elsewhere, food production continues to be disrupted by civil strife in Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

ASIA: Millions of people in Asia have been affected by heavy and extensive monsoon rains and floods. The worst affected countries include China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. DPR Korea was hit by a severe drought during the spring which seriously affected the winter-spring and the main maize crops. In the Near East, three consecutive years of drought have severely reduced food production in Afghanistan, Jordan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq and Syria. In the CIS, food supply difficulties persist in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Georgia due to drought.

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: The precarious food situation in Central America due to recent hurricanes, dry spells, earthquakes and loss of employment following the closure of coffee plantations, has been aggravated by drought. In South America, the weather has generally been favourable for crops. However, tens of thousands of families were forced to leave their homes following a volcano eruption in Ecuador, an earthquake in southern Peru and floods in Bolivia and Uruguay.

EUROPE: Aggregate 2001 cereal production in the EC is set to fall by about 5 percent from last year to 204 million tonnes due to smaller wheat crops. By contrast, cereal crops in central and eastern European countries are generally larger, after recovering from the drought-reduced levels last year. In the CIS west of the Urals the prospects are for significantly improved harvest this year, particularly in the Russian federation and Ukraine.

NORTH AMERICA: In the United States, total wheat production in 2001 is estimated at 54 million tonnes, some 10 percent down from the previous year and well below average. Maize output is also forecast to fall, by about 7 percent, to 235 million tonnes. In Canada, where the harvest is just starting, wheat output is set to fall by about 20 percent below last year's good crop.

OCEANIA: The 2001 winter grain harvest is getting underway in some parts of Australia and early prospects are generally favourable. Total wheat output is forecast at some 20 million tonnes, which would be down from last year and slightly below the average of the past five years. In the Pacific Islands, heavy rains have damaged crops in Papua New Guinea, while dry conditions have caused serious water shortages in Samoa.