FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
- Favourable production prospects for 2020 wheat crop
- Cereal import requirements in 2020/21 forecast below-average volume Favourable production prospects for 2020 wheat crop Harvesting of the 2020 wheat crops, planted in October and November last year, is ongoing under favourable weather conditions. Adequate and well-distributed rains in the season resulted in favourable crop conditions across the country, as shown by satellite data from late May just before the beginning of the harvest (see ASI image). The 2020 wheat output is officially forecast at 1.4 million tonnes, well below the 2019 high level, due to a 10 percent year-on-year reduction in plantings in favour of more profitable cotton cultivation. The 2020 output, however, is forecast at 6 percent above the five-year average, amid the use of high yielding seeds and favourable weather conditions in the season.
Planting of the 2020 maize crops, to be harvested from August, finalized in June under favourable weather conditions.
Cereal import requirements in 2020/21 forecast well below-average volume Total cereal import requirements for the 2020/21 marketing year (July/June) are forecast at 113 000 tonnes, well below the five-year average. Wheat imports, mainly sourced from Kazakhstan, are forecast at a below-average level of 80 000 tonnes, reflecting adequate domestic supplies due to the 2019 high output and the expectation of an above average production in 2020.
Source: relief web