FAO/GIEWS: Africa Report 10/96

ERITREA

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Area: 124 320 sq.km
Climate: Highland areas: tropical wet/dry with unreliable rains. Lowlands: semi-arid to arid
Population: 2.978 million (1996 estimate); G.N.P. per caput: n.a.
Specific characteristics of the country: Low-income food-deficit country
Logistics: Roads inadequate, gateway to northern Ethiopia
Major foodcrops: Sorghum, teff, millet, maize, pulses
Marketing year: January/December; Lean season: August-November
Share of cereals in total calorie intake: 73 percent

CURRENT SITUATION

Above-average precipitation in the first dekad of August in lowland areas, affected earlier by insufficient rains in July, improved prospects for 1996 coarse grains. Despite abundant rains at the beginning of the season, preliminary estimates indicate a decline in the area planted from the previous year. However, providing favourable weather continues during the remainder of the growing season, output could increase above last year’s poor crop.

The prices of grains, which have remained stable since the beginning of the year, increased during June/July. This reflects shortages of supplies following last year’s reduced cereal harvest and the closure of the Eritrea-Sudan border. Increasing commercial imports of maize, teff, and sorghum are reported to have entered the country in the past month. However, the food situation of vulnerable groups is anticipated to deteriorate in the months ahead to the next harvest from November. Against food aid requirements of 191 000 tons in 1996, deliveries by the end of August amounted to only 33 000 tons.