FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 01/00 - SRI LANKA (2 February)
The main crop is currently the main Maha rice crop, which is planted from Oct to Dec for harvest from March onwards. Maha planting coincides with the arrival of the northeast monsoon, the country's main rainy season. Of total rice production, approximately two thirds comes from the Maha crop and a third from the irrigated Yala crop, which is harvested in August/September. Overall 1998/99 paddy production was 2.7 million tonnes, some 9 percent higher than the five year average and marginally above the previous year.
In addition to rice, the country's main staple, some 850 - 900 000 tonnes of wheat are imported annually to meet demand for bread and other wheat based products.
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