FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 11/01 - LAOS* (6 November)
With the harvesting of the wet season paddy crop production for 2001 currently underway, forecasts remain above average around 2.2 million tonnes (1.3 million tonnes in milled rice equivalent) due to generally favourable weather conditions.
Wet paddy is grown in the lowland of Mekong River Basin while a smaller low performing monsoon crop is cultivated in the uplands. While the overall rice production for 2001 is satisfactory, there are food shortages for the households affected by last year’s devastating floods which destroyed 43 000 out of a total of 520 000 hectares of paddy crop.