MEXICO (30 September)
The northwestern parts of the country were affected by the passage of Hurricane “Marty” around 22–24 September. An official estimate of losses incurred to the agricultural sector has not yet been made available, but damage to some 300 000 hectares of crops, maize and sorghum in particular, is reported. Emergency relief has been provided by authorities. Abundant rains due to the remote passage of Hurricane “Linda” in mid-September, on the other hand, have refilled water reservoirs in the important wheat producing states in the north-west, where land is being prepared for planting of the 2003/04 irrigated wheat crop from October. Widespread normal to abundant rains across the large producing southern and south central states of Jalisco, México, Michoacá, Chiapas and Puebla have continued to provide adequate moisture to the important spring/summer maize crop, currently in its developing stage. Some isolated flooding has been reported, but with no real damage to crops. The harvest is due from October on, and total production in 2003, which includes the output from the 2002/03 fall/winter crop, is tentatively forecast at 19 million tonnes, some 500 000 tonnes above the average production of the past five years. Sowing of the 2003 sorghum crop is virtually completed. Harvest operations should start in October, and early forecasts point out to a total sorghum production in 2003 of about an average 5.6 million tonnes. This includes the recently harvested output from the largest producing state, Tamaulipas.