FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 11/01 - COLOMBIA (3 November)
A dry spell in October favoured harvesting of first season crops, and planting of second season rain-fed crops is underway. Rains are reported normal in the Orinoco and Amazon areas, but elsewhere the dry weather conditions are not favouring crop development. Harvesting of the main paddy crop was completed in October. Paddy prices are low and the government has stopped rice imports until next year to prevent prices from falling further. A UN inter-agency mission that visited the country in August concluded that population displacement has increased. The mission observed an increase in the numbers, geographical extension and political complexities of the displacement phenomenon, and insisted on the need for protection and humanitarian assistance of the affected populations.
Import requirements in marketing year 2001/02 (July/June) are forecast at 1.3 million tonnes of wheat and 2.2 million tonnes of maize.