FAO/GIEWS: Africa Report No.2 - June 2004 p.40
Aggregate cereal production in 2003 has been recently revised by CILSS to about 200 000 tonnes, some 73 percent higher than in 2002 and sharply higher than the average for the previous five years. Mauritania is a food import-dependent country whose domestic production covers less than half of the country’s cereal utilization requirement in a normal year. Food security is heavily dependent on trade and the exchange rate of Ouguiya, the national currency. Cereal import requirements for the 2003/04 marketing year (November/October) are forecast at about 315 000 tonnes, mostly wheat. This includes 30 000 tonnes of wheat for re-export.
| CEREAL SUPPLY/DEMAND BALANCE FOR THE 2003/04 MARKETING YEAR (November/October) | ||||
| Wheat | Rice | Coarse Grains | Total Cereals | |
| [ | thousand tonnes | ] | ||
| Previous year production (incl. paddy rice) | - | 85 | 31 | 116 |
| Previous five years average production (incl. paddy rice) | - | 82 | 79 | 161 |
| Previous year imports | 413 | 34 | 42 | 489 1/ |
| Previous five years average imports | 279 | 40 | 12 | 331 |
| 2003/04 Domestic Availability | - | 58 | 116 | 175 |
| 2003 Production (incl. paddy rice) | - | 85 | 116 | 201 |
| 2003 Production (incl. milled rice) | - | 56 | 116 | 173 |
| Possible stock drawdown | - | 2 | - | 2 |
| 2003/04 Utilization | 278 | 92 | 119 | 490 |
| Food use | 218 | 78 | 80 | 376 |
| Non-food use | 30 | 13 | 25 | 67 |
| Exports or re-exports | 30 | 1 | 1 | 32 |
| Possible stock build up | - | - | 14 | 14 |
| 2003/04 Import Requirement | 278 | 34 | 3 | 315 2/ |
| Anticipated commercial imports | 258 | 15 | 1 | 274 |
| of which: received or contracted | 25 | - | - | 25 |
| Food aid needs | 20 | 19 | 2 | 41 |
| Current Aid Position | ||||
| Food aid pledges | 40 | 19 | 3 | 63 |
| of which: delivered | 22 | 10 | 1 | 34 |
| Donor-financed purchases | - | - | - | - |
| of which: for local use | - | - | - | - |
| for export | - | - | - | - |
| Estimated Per Caput Consumption (kg/year) | 79 | 28 | 29 | 136 |
| Indexes | [ | percentage | ] | |
| 2003 Production compared to average (incl. paddy rice) | - | 103 | 147 | 125 |
| 2003/04 Import requirement compared to average | 100 | 85 | 25 | 95 |
| Cereal share of total calorie intake | 54 | |||
| Additional Information | ||||
| Major foodcrops | wheat; rice; millet; sorghum | |||
| Lean season | July-September | |||
| Population (000s) | 2 776 | |||
| GNI per capita in 2002 (US$) | 280 | |||