REGIONAL SUMMARY

SADC cereal production estimates indicate a 12% increase over last season ... Latest estimates indicate a regional cereal (i.e. maize, wheat, rice and sorghum/millet) production of 35.55 million tonnes, which is 12% higher than the 2009 final harvest of 31.83 million tonnes and 32% higher than the 5-year average of 26.84 million tonnes. Increased cereal productions have been assessed in almost all countries. Exceptionally high increases in production compared to last year have been achieved in Botswana (158%), Lesotho (59%), Namibia (40%), Tanzania (35%) and Zambia (41%) (Tables 1, 3 & 5). Productions of non-cereals such as cassava and plantains have also increased especially in Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania.

An overall cereal surplus of 2.05 million tonnes is assessed for the 2010/11 marketing year ... Latest assessments indicate a 2010/11 regional cereal surplus of 2.05 million tonnes compared to an overall cereal deficit of 0.38 million tonnes during the 2009/10 marketing year. However, overall cereal surpluses are recorded in Malawi (1.12 million tonnes), South Africa (2.80 million tonnes), Tanzania (0.21million tonnes) and Zambia (1.17 million tonnes). Deficits are recorded for the rest of the countries ranging from 0.73 million tonnes in Swaziland to 0.92 million tonnes in Zimbabwe (Tables 1, 3 & 5).

Regional maize surplus of 5.83 million tonnes is assessed for the 2010/11 marketing year ... Latest assessments project a regional maize surplus of 5.83 million tonnes for the 2010/11 marketing year compared to a downward revised surplus of 3.32 million tonnes during the last marketing year. On a country basis, maize surpluses are assessed in Malawi (1.16 million tonnes), Mozambique (0.06 million tonnes), South Africa (4.45 million tonnes), Tanzania (0.20 million tonnes) and Zambia (1.17 million tonnes). Price and other factors permitting, these exportable surpluses are more than enough to cover the import needs of Member States with deficit in maize (Graph 1 & Tables 3 & 4).

Overall deficits/import requirements are assessed in wheat, rice and sorghum/millet ... Regional deficits are assessed in wheat (2.75 million tonnes), rice (0.66 million tonnes) and sorghum/millet (0.37 million tonnes). While deficits in sorghum/millet could be covered through cross substitution with surplus maize, wheat and possibly rice have to be imported from outside the region. Member States need to put addition effort to increased production of these crops (Graph 1 & Table 3).

The number of people requiring humanitarian assistance has gone up to 4.04 million ... Vulnerability assessments carried out in April/May 2010 indicate that the total number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in the eight Member States of Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe has increased from 3.26 million last year to 4.04 million during the 2010/11 marketing year. Donor assistance is required to assist some of these countries (Table 2).

Attachments:

SADC Food Security Update - July 2010.pdf [85013]