NEPAL (9 February)
The winter wheat is currently in the ground and due for harvest in April. The weather is favourable with above-average rainfall and close to normal temperature in January. Harvesting of 2004 main season rice was completed in December and the aggregate 2004 paddy output is estimated at 4.3 million tonnes, 3.5 percent below last year, but 2 percent above the average of the previous five years. The 2004 wheat output is estimated at about 1.3 million tonnes. The total cereal import requirement in 2004/05 is estimated at 80 000 tonnes.
The nine-year armed conflict between the government’s security forces and the Maoists has claimed more than 10 000 lives (more than 2 330 people were killed in 2004 alone), disrupted the security and livelihood of thousands of families, leaving the country among the poorest countries in the world with per capita GDP in 2004 only US$230. The country’s food security also affected by floods and landslides every year, with 800 000 people affected in 2004.