Prospects for cereal harvest this year is favourable and seen to match the sharply recovered harvest of 2001 at 8.8 million tonnes. Bad weather conditions last winter hampered the planned increase in area sown to cereals, in particular wheat, which if realised would have significantly increased cereal output in 2002. Provided that sufficient seeds and fertilisers are available and favourable weather conditions prevail, cereal harvest this year may be at least as high as the 2001 harvest. Cereal harvest last year included 2.9 million tonnes of wheat, 5.5 million tonnes of maize and 303 000 tonnes of barley. Current domestic cereal utilisation is estimated at 8.2 million tonnes. Therefore, cereal exports for 2001/02 marketing year is estimated at 700 000 tonnes, including 400 000 tonnes of wheat and 300 000 tonnes of maize.

WFP has extended its emergency food assistance programme, which will be continuously phased out by December 2002. WFP currently assists some 575 000 beneficiaries, of which 215 000 are refugees and 360 000 social cases, the latter will be phased out from the combined programme by mid 2002.