Post by dracon on May 24, 2009 8:34:52 GMT 4
Syrian wheat production up but short of goals
May 23, 2009 at 11:24
Syrian wheat production will rise to 3.2 million tonnes this year, higher than the previous season but short of planned output, a senior agriculture official said on Saturday.
Syria, which consumes 4 million tonnes of wheat a year, is a a major Middle East farm and commodities player, although consecutive droughts have undermined production.
Another season of less than expected output could force the state to import wheat for the second year running and sideline it as a wheat exporter to Egypt and Jordan, which had been main markets for Syrian wheat.
Hassan Katana, who heads the statistics and planning division at the Agriculture Ministry, told Reuters that only 1.4 million hectares were planted wheat this year, or 84 percent of the designated area.
A yield of 4.7 million tonnes had been planned. Only 608,000 tonnes of wheat were produced from rain fed areas compared with a planned 1.2 million tonnes, according to a report with the official 2009 estimates drafted by Katana.
"We have seen weak rainfall and falling ground wells capacity. Farmers have been also hit with consecutive years of drought and have less liquidity," Katana said in an interview.
He said if relatively small amounts of rain had fallen this month in the key northeastern farming province of Hasaka then output would have increased by as much as 300,000 tonnes.
Instead, Hasaka is expected to produce 892,000 tonnes this season, compared to a planned 1.9 million.
Farmers have turned to planting barley, which is more resistant to drought, Katana said. Barley production is expected at 950,000 tonnes versus a planned 1.6 million tonnes.
"Overall, it will be a better year than the last. The government will continue to work on improving yield and assisting farmers in how to do so. We cannot, however, forecast weather disasters," he said.
The government, which has a marketing monopoly and subsidises wheat and other crops, cancelled the bulk of Syria's wheat export contracts in 2007, when production fell to 4.1 million tonnes.
Last year production fell again to 2.1 million tonnes, one of the lowest seasons on record, due to what officials described as a disastrous drought. The state imported more than 1.2 million tonnes of wheat since, mainly from the Black Sea.
Wheat is a sensitive issue in Syria, which has been ruled by the Baath Party since it took power in a 1963 coup and nationalised large parts of the economy, although limited liberalisation has been introduced in the last several years.
The government, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2004, regards wheat as a pillar of national security and had prided itself on self sufficiency in the crop.
Criticism has risen in recent months of its policy of dolling out agricultural subsidies, including for wheat and cotton, and opening up semi-arid areas for wheat farming while ignoring illegal digging of tens of thousands of ground wells.
Reuters
May 23, 2009 at 11:24
Syrian wheat production will rise to 3.2 million tonnes this year, higher than the previous season but short of planned output, a senior agriculture official said on Saturday.
Syria, which consumes 4 million tonnes of wheat a year, is a a major Middle East farm and commodities player, although consecutive droughts have undermined production.
Another season of less than expected output could force the state to import wheat for the second year running and sideline it as a wheat exporter to Egypt and Jordan, which had been main markets for Syrian wheat.
Hassan Katana, who heads the statistics and planning division at the Agriculture Ministry, told Reuters that only 1.4 million hectares were planted wheat this year, or 84 percent of the designated area.
A yield of 4.7 million tonnes had been planned. Only 608,000 tonnes of wheat were produced from rain fed areas compared with a planned 1.2 million tonnes, according to a report with the official 2009 estimates drafted by Katana.
"We have seen weak rainfall and falling ground wells capacity. Farmers have been also hit with consecutive years of drought and have less liquidity," Katana said in an interview.
He said if relatively small amounts of rain had fallen this month in the key northeastern farming province of Hasaka then output would have increased by as much as 300,000 tonnes.
Instead, Hasaka is expected to produce 892,000 tonnes this season, compared to a planned 1.9 million.
Farmers have turned to planting barley, which is more resistant to drought, Katana said. Barley production is expected at 950,000 tonnes versus a planned 1.6 million tonnes.
"Overall, it will be a better year than the last. The government will continue to work on improving yield and assisting farmers in how to do so. We cannot, however, forecast weather disasters," he said.
The government, which has a marketing monopoly and subsidises wheat and other crops, cancelled the bulk of Syria's wheat export contracts in 2007, when production fell to 4.1 million tonnes.
Last year production fell again to 2.1 million tonnes, one of the lowest seasons on record, due to what officials described as a disastrous drought. The state imported more than 1.2 million tonnes of wheat since, mainly from the Black Sea.
Wheat is a sensitive issue in Syria, which has been ruled by the Baath Party since it took power in a 1963 coup and nationalised large parts of the economy, although limited liberalisation has been introduced in the last several years.
The government, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2004, regards wheat as a pillar of national security and had prided itself on self sufficiency in the crop.
Criticism has risen in recent months of its policy of dolling out agricultural subsidies, including for wheat and cotton, and opening up semi-arid areas for wheat farming while ignoring illegal digging of tens of thousands of ground wells.
Reuters