Forecast shows 1,9m tonnes of cereals
Tabitha Mutenga Staff Reporter
THE Crop Prospects and Food Situation Quarterly Global Report’s preliminary forecasts show Zimbabwe producing about 1,9 million tonnes of grain in 2018.
The report, done by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture, indicates that Zimbabwe should expect a decline in cereal production from the 2,6 million tonnes produced last season.
“In Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, production is preliminarily forecast to fell by less than 0,5 million tonnes, respectively, from 2017 levels, which would still maintain higher than average harvests in 2018,” FAO said.
In aggregate, the sub-regional maize output in 2018 is preliminarily forecasted at 25,4 million tonnes, about 20 percent less than the 2017 record level, but still about one million tonnes above the previous five-year average.
‘Harvesting of the 2018 cereal crops is well underway and the production outlook for maize, the primary food staple, indicates a year-on-year decline in most countries compared to the record and bumper highs of 2017. However, at the sub-regional level, the production is still expected to remain above average,” FAO said.
The record high maize harvest in 2017 enabled countries to build up inventories and, as a result, opening stocks for the 2018/19 marketing year are estimated at above average. Higher stocks are anticipated to parity cushion the impact of forecast production decreases in 2018, helping to contain import requirements.
The 2017/18 rainfall season officially ended on March 31.
Following below-normal rains during the first half of the cropping season, late rains received in February resulted in the recovery of some late-planted crops, which were almost at wilting point
The effects of the unpredictable weather patterns compromised the 2018 yield for most crops.
Government has assured the nation that despite anticipated poor harvests this season, the Grain Marketing Board has sufficient stocks to meet domestic demand until the 2019 harvest