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afrol News, 5 February - Harvest reports from Mali is encouraging reading. Food security in 2002 seems to be under control, and the Sahelian country is even believed to have produced a net grain surplus, opening for modest exports of rice and dry grains. According to a recently released update by the US based Famine Early Warning System (FEWS), per capita grain availability this year (230 kg) is up 10 percent from 2000/01 and 13 percent above the official consumption standard of 204 kg per person per year. The only bad news for grain producers were the drop in prices, due to the increased access. The price of millet on the Ségou market at the end of November was noted down 17 percent from October of this year, FEWS reported. "An available grain supply of nearly 2.9 million tons and resulting rollbacks in grain prices point to a good nationwide food outlook for the year 2002," the agency however concludes. The 2001/02 crop year puts grain production at 24 percent higher than last year's figure. "Indeed, this is the second highest production figure since 1990," FEWS observes. The production of rice and dry grains this season have exceeded the national consumption need, while the modest wheat and barley production was below needs. Mali calculated with very modest grain imports and some exports of rice and dry grains to neighbouring countries. The most heavily populated zones of the country all experienced above average harvests. Only some northwestern and Saharan parts of the country had a production shortfall. This was estimated to include some 300,000 Malian residents. Kayes, an isolated town close to the Senegalese border, was one of the affected areas, and here grain prices had continued to climb. Overall, however, the good harvest forecast for the 2001/02 crop year is reflected in "an across-the-board rollback in prices of dry grains on retail markets around the country." The slide in prices in mid-November had picked up speed toward the end of the month. - Grain prices should be more affordable in the year 2002 compared with 2001, in light of good crop performance in Mali and of the good conditions in neighboring countries, the FEWS report assesses the situation. Sources: Based on FEWS
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