Reference Date: 10-March-2026

Favourable start of 2025/26 winter season

Planting of the 2025/26 minor winter cereal crops, mainly wheat and barley, finalized last November and harvesting is expected to start next June. Weather conditions between October 2025 and February 2026 were generally favourable, facilitating sowing operations and supporting satisfactory crop germination and establishment. According to satellite imagery, snow cover during the winter months, from December 2025 to February 2026, was generally sufficient in the main producing areas, providing adequate protection to dormant crops against freezing temperatures. Crops broke dormancy and resumed growth in late February under generally adequate soil moisture conditions, mainly resulting from snowmelt. Planting of 2025/26 spring wheat, barley and potatoes, that are expected to be harvested next June, started in early March. Although winter and spring cereal crops account for only about 10 percent of the total annual crop production, they serve as an important source of food during the May to August lean period, ahead of the start of the main season harvest in September.

Conducive weather conditions benefitted 2025 main season food crops

Harvesting of the 2025 main food crops, which account for about 90 percent of the total annual production and consist mostly of rice and maize, plus small quantities of soybeans, potatoes, millet and sorghum, finalized last October. Seasonal rains began on time in mid‑April 2025 and precipitation amounts between early May and mid‑August were average to above average and well distributed, favouring planting operations and crop development. In the second half of August 2025, precipitation amounts were well above the average in western parts of the country, including the main cereal producing provinces of North and South Pyongan as well as North Hwanghae. In these areas, temporary flooding occurred in localized low‑lying areas, but no major impact on crops has been reported. Remote sensing data, as of late August 2025, just before the start of the main harvest, indicated good vegetation conditions across most of the country, inferring to generally favourable yields and production prospects (ASI map).In September and early October 2025, precipitation amounts were above average in some southern main producing provinces which may have hampered harvesting operations and raised concerns about crop quality and potential post‑harvest losses. Harvesting of the 2024/25 minor winter and spring cereal crops, mainly wheat and barley was completed in June 2025 and weather conditions during the cropping season were generally favourable.

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This brief was prepared using the following data/tools:
FAO/GIEWS Country Cereal Balance Sheet (CCBS) https://www.fao.org/giews/data-tools/en/ .

FAO/GIEWS Food Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA) Tool https://fpma.fao.org/ .

FAO/GIEWS Earth Observation for Crop Monitoring https://www.fao.org/giews/earthobservation/ .

Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) https://www.ipcinfo.org/ .