LDC FOOD AID NEEDS DECLINE IN 1986/87 - USDA
Total food aid needs in 69 of the
least developed countries declined in 1986/87, as requirments
fell in many countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, the
U.S. Agriculture Department said.
    In a summary of its World Agriculture Report, the
department said grain production in sub-Saharan Africa was a
record high in 1986, with gains in almost every country.
    However, food needs in Central America rose, worsened by
drought-reduced crops and civil strife.
    Record wheat production in 1986/87 is pushing global wheat
consumption for food to a new high, and higher yielding
varieties have been particularly effective where spring wheat
is a common crop, it said.
    However, may developing countries in tropical climates,
such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central
America, are not well adapted for wheat production, and
improved varieties are not the answer to rising food needs, the
department said.
    World per capita consumption of vegetable oil will rise in
1986/87 for the third straight year.
    Soybean oil constitutes almost 30 pct of vegetable oil
consumption, while palm oil is the most traded, the department
said.
 Reuter
