N. Korea’s rice output to dip in 2013-14 harvest year: U.N. report
▻http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2013/11/12/29/0401000000AEN20131112003300315F.html
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) — North Korea’s rice production is expected to dip 5.6 percent on-year to 1.7 million tons in the 2013-14 harvest year, data by the United Nations showed Tuesday, stoking worries about food shortages in the isolationist nation.
According to the forecast made by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the communist country’s rice output will likely be better than the annual average of 1.6 million tons produced from 2009 through 2011, but still fall short of the 1.8 million tons tallied in the 2012-13 period.
The latest forecast said the country needs a total of 1.9 million tons of rice to better feed its people till the summer of 2014. The total includes grain imports and aid shipments, in addition to agricultural output.