UZBEKISTAN (1 August)
Cereal harvest is nearly complete and aggregate output is seen to match the bumper crop of the preceding year. Aggregate cereal harvest at about 5.4 million tonnes includes 4.89 million tonnes of wheat, 260 000 tonnes of maize and 135 000 tonnes of rice. Improved precipitation and irrigation water availability as well as sustained increase in area under cereals at the expense of cotton, have contributed to record harvest two years in succession. Uzbekistan requires some 5.2 million tonnes of cereals, mainly wheat (4.6 million tonnes) to meet domestic consumption requirements. Cereal exports are still restricted as a matter of policy, while food quality wheat (249 000 tonnes) and rice (100 000 tonnes) are imported. Food self-sufficiency is a stated Government policy.