Initial indications are that the 1997 cereal harvest will be much lower than the record crop in 1996. This is due to a reduction in area planted, a dry spell in February in southern districts when much of the crop was at tasselling stage and early frost in the last two weeks of April. Official preliminary crop assessment points to a harvest of 90 500 tons of maize, 13 000 tons of sorghum and 5 300 tons of wheat.
As a result of the anticipated drop in output, the food supply situation for the 1997/98 marketing year is expected to be tight. The cereal deficit, which is anticipated to exceed 250 000 tons, will be covered largely through commercial imports and some food aid.