Attachments
FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
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Planting operations of 2024 main rice crop has begun in some areas
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Cereal imports in 2023/24 forecast above five-year average
Planting operations of 2024 main rice crop has begun in some areas
Harvesting of the 2023 secondary season paddy crop is about to finalize and 2023 aggregate paddy production is forecast at a near-average level 2.5 million tonnes.
Planting of the 2024 main season rice crop began in June in Sabah State, a minor rice-producing area, amid generally adequate soil moisture levels that supported planting operations and crop development (VCI map). In Peninsular Malaysia, the country's main rice-producing area, planting operations are about to start, while in the minor producing Sarawak State, rice planting is expected to commence in October. About 85 percent of the main rice crop is cultivated under irrigation in the northern parts of Peninsular Malaysia. According to the National Water Services Commission, as of 17 July 2023, irrigation water availability was generally adequate in most dams. However, water levels in five dams were at warning level1 and Muda Dam was at critical level, most of them situated in the northern parts of Peninsular Malaysia. From August to December, weather conditions in Sabah and Sarawak states, which account for about 15 percent of the national main season's output and where rice is mainly rainfed, are forecast to be drier-than-average, with likely negative impacts on yields.