Area:
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124 320 sq.km
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Climate:
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Highland areas: tropical wet/dry with unreliable rains. Lowlands: semi-arid to arid
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Population:
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3.0 million (1999 estimate); G.N.P. per caput: n.a.
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Specific characteristics of the country:
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Low-income food-deficit country
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Logistics:
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Roads inadequate, gateway to northern Ethiopia
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Major foodcrops:
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Sorghum, teff, millet, maize, pulses
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Marketing year:
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January/December; Lean season: August-November
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Share of cereals in total calorie intake:
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73 percent
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Planting of 1999 cereal crops is underway. Early prospects are uncertain following below average rainfall in June in most parts of the country. Spring rains from March to May were also reported to have been erratic and inadequate. An armyworm outbreak is reported in late June, with Anseba province particularly affected. Control measures are underway but further spread is forecast.
Despite the overall good harvest in 1998, the food situation is very tight for people in border areas of Gash-Barka and Debub affected by the war with Ethiopia. Furthermore, the failure of the 1998/99 winter rains known as Keremti Bahri rain (October to March), over the Red Sea coastal areas and the adjoining coastal escarpments has resulted in serious shortages of grains and forage in the Semenawi and Keih Bahri provinces.
Under an Emergency Operation recently approved by FAO and WFP, international food assistance will be provided to 268 000 people most affected by the war, including 246 500 displaced and 21 500 deportees from Ethiopia, for a period of nine months.
| Wheat | Rice | Coarse grains | Total | |
| Normal Production | - | - | - | - |
| Normal Imports | - | - | - | - |
| of which: Structural food aid | - | - | - | - |
| 1999 Domestic Availability | 33 | - | 436 | 469 |
| 1998 Production (rice in paddy terms) | 23 | - | 436 | 459 |
| 1998 Production (rice in milled terms) | 23 | - | 436 | 459 |
| Possible stock drawdown | 10 | - | - | 10 |
| 1999 Utilization | 138 | - | 440 | 578 |
| Food Use | 133 | - | 295 | 428 |
| of which: local purchase requirement | - | - | - | - |
| Non-food use | 5 | - | 80 | 85 |
| Exports or Re-exports | - | - | - | - |
| Possible stock build up | - | - | 65 | 65 |
| 1999 Import Requirement | 105 | - | 4 | 109 |
| Anticipated commercial imports | 65 | - | - | 65 |
| Food aid needs | 40 | - | 4 | 44 |
| Current Aid Position | ||||
| Food aid pledges | 12 | - | 4 | 16 |
| of which: Delivered | - | - | - | - |
| Donor-financed purchases | - | - | - | - |
| of which: for local use | - | - | - | - |
| for export | - | - | - | - |
| Estimated Per Caput Consumption (kg/Year) | 44 | - | 98 | 143 |
| Indexes | ||||
| 1998 production as % of normal: | - | |||
| 1999 import requirement as % of normal: | - | |||
| 1999 food aid requirement as % of normal: | - |
