Africa Report - No. 3 December 2004

FAO/GIEWS: Africa Report No.3 - December 2004 p.35

яПНяПНLESOTHO

The estimated 2004 cereal production is estimated at 49яПН000 tonnes, less than half of the previous year. Consequently, the country needs to import 352яПН000 tonnes (or 85 percent of its total requirements) of cereals to cover domestic consumption requirements, including 49яПН000 tonnes of food aid for vulnerable groups who experienced crop failure.

CEREAL SUPPLY/DEMAND BALANCE FOR THE 2004/05 MARKETING YEAR (April/March)
яПН	Wheat	Rice	Coarse Grains	Total Cereals
яПН	[	thousand tonnes		]
Previous year production (incl. paddy rice)	37	-	82	119
Previous five years average production (incl. paddy rice)	24	-	132	156
Previous year imports	66	10	165	241
Previous five years average imports	62	9	163	234
2004/05 Domestic Availability	25	-	39	64
2004 Production (incl. paddy rice)	13	-	36	49
2004 Production (incl. milled rice)	13	-	36	49
Possible stock drawdown	12	-	3	15
2004/05 Utilization	96	3	317	416
Food use	95	3	314	413
Non-food use	1	-	2	3
Exports or re-exports	-	-	-	-
Possible stock build up	-	-	-	-
2004/05 Import Requirement	71	3	278	352
Anticipated commercial imports	71	3	229	303
of which: received or contracted	35	-	75	110
Food aid needs	-	-	49	49
Current Aid Position	яПН	яПН	яПН	яПН
Food aid pledges	-	-	6	6
of which: delivered	-	-	5	5
Donor-financed purchases	-	-	21	21
of which: for local use	-	-	21	21
for export	-	-	-	-
Estimated Per Caput Consumption (kg/year)	42	1	139	182
Indexes	[	percentage		]
2004 Production compared to average (incl. paddy rice)	54	-	28	32
2004/05 Import requirement compared to average	114	33	170	150
Cereal share of total calorie intake	яПН	яПН	яПН	78
Additional Information	яПН	яПН	яПН	яПН
Major foodcrops	maize; sorghum; vegetables
Lean season	February-April
Population (000s)	2 264	яПН	яПН	яПН
GNI per capita in 2003 (US$)	590	яПН	яПН	яПН

FAO/GIEWSяПН-яПНDecember 2004