Reference Date: 29-February-2024

Cereal production in 2023 fell below average due to dry weather conditions

Harvesting of 2023 winter cereal crops, mainly wheat and barley, planted in October and November 2022, finalized between September and October 2023. The harvest of maize and minor spring wheat crops was completed last November under dry weather conditions as a result of climate change impact.

Outputs of wheat (winter and spring crops) and barley are officially reported at about 440 415 tonnes and 382 082 tonnes, respectively. With maize production reaching almost 800 000 tonnes, total cereal production for 2023 stands at 1.6 million tonnes, making the figure below the five‑year average level. Drought conditions affected crop yields as a consequence of high temperatures and low availability of irrigation water.

Planting of 2024 winter cereal crops, to be harvested from next June, is ongoing under dry weather conditions.

Wheat import requirements in 2023/24 forecast below five‑year average

In the 2023/24 marketing year (July/June), wheat import requirements are forecast at 350 000 tonnes, below the five‑year average. Wheat imports account, on average, for 95 percent of total annual cereal imports and cover almost half of the domestic consumption needs of wheat. In September 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) introduced a six‑month temporary ban on exports of wheat flour in order to regulate the food security of the country.

Prices of wheat flour remained almost unchanged at previous year’s levels

According to Kyrgyzstan’s National Bank, the national Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow 5 percent in 2023 and 5.1 percent in 2024. Inflation rate in 2023 was estimated at 10 percent (December 2023 to December 2022). Retail prices of first grade wheat flour increased between August and October 2023, then weakened in January 2024 reaching the same year‑earlier levels.

Disclaimer: The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

This brief was prepared using the following data/tools:
FAO/GIEWS Country Cereal Balance Sheet (CCBS) https://www.fao.org/giews/data-tools/en/ .

FAO/GIEWS Food Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA) Tool https://fpma.fao.org/ .

FAO/GIEWS Earth Observation for Crop Monitoring https://www.fao.org/giews/earthobservation/ .

Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) https://www.ipcinfo.org/ .