Syrian Wheat, Barley Production Drops on Crop Disease, Weather
Syrian wheat, barley and cotton production fell in 2010 because of a crop disease and adverse weather, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Wheat output dropped 17 percent from the prior year to 3.08 million metric tons as the fungal disease known as yellow rust hit the crop, the ministry said in a statement. The government had estimated production at 4.5 million tons, it said.
The ministry asked farmers to plant wheat instead of more typical winter crops such as barley as a result of a drought affecting domestic production of the staple grain, Al-Baath newspaper reported last month.
Barley production declined 20 percent to 680,000 tons, the ministry said. Adverse weather meant that output amounted to 43 percent of the government’s 1.6 million-ton goal, it said.
Cotton production slid 28 percent to 472,500 tons, the ministry said, compared with the government’s 681,000-ton estimate.
To contact the reporters on this story: Lina Ibrahim in Dubai at librahim4@bloomberg.net; Nayla Razzouk in Amman at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss on sev@bloomberg.net
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