Reference Date: 2-August-2024

Area planted with 2024 cereal crops forecast at below‑average level

Planting of the 2024 paddy crop, for harvest at the end of the year, is ongoing and will conclude in August, while planting of the 2024 maize crop finalized last March, with harvesting expected to start from August onwards. The area planted with both crops is set to be below the five-year average, due to a shift in the use of land to more profitable vegetables and cash crops as well as to infrastructure projects. After generally below-average precipitation amounts in April and May, rains resumed from mid-June and together with adequate irrigation water availability, provided conducive growing conditions for paddy and maize crops and bolstering yields expectations.

Cereal import requirements are forecast at above-average level in 2024/25 marketing year

The country relies heavily on cereal imports, mostly from India, as local production covers only about two‑thirds of the national consumption needs. Cereal imports consist mostly of rice plus small quantities of maize and wheat. In the 2024/25 marketing year (July/June), total cereal import requirements are forecast at an above‑average level of about 165 000 tonnes, continuing the steadily increasing trend observed during the last seven years, reflecting low domestic maize and rice production and increasing levels of human consumption.

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/ .