Attachments
FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
- Planting operations of 2022 main maize crop ongoing under favourable conditions
- Cereal import requirements expected at high levels in 2021/22 marketing year
- Prices of staple maize, bean and rice higher year on year in April 2022
- Number of food insecure people expected to remain high between June and August 2022
Planting operations of 2022 main maize crop ongoing under favourable conditions
Planting of the 2022 main season maize crop is ongoing and abundant cumulative rainfall amounts since end-April have improved soil moisture. At the end of May 2022, amid increasing concerns about high production costs, the government started to distribute a bag of improved maize seeds and 90 kg of fertilizers to 100 000 smallholder farmers with less than 0.7 hectares of land. At the end of April 2022, prices of fertilizers and herbicides were about 90 and 50 percent, respectively, higher year on year in the two major markets of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. Imports of fertilizers declined by 20 percent during the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, as a result of the temporary export quota introduced by the Russian Federation, the source of about half of the imported fertilizers during the 2019 to 2021 period. Precipitation amounts were forecast at an average level in June and are likely to improve during the July to September period. However, in case of torrential rains during the crop maturity stage or harvesting operations, the excessive moisture could constrain yield potential.
Cereal import requirements expected at high levels in 2021/22 marketing year
Cereal import requirements in the 2021/22 marketing year (September/August) are expected at an above-average level of 1.2 million tonnes. The high needs mainly reflect the sustained demand for yellow maize by the feed industry and the increasing consumption of wheat and rice in line with population growth.