North Korea to produce 4.78 million tons of food crops this year, down 40,000 tons from last year

The Rural Development Administration in South Korea has released the '2024 North Korean Food Crop Production Estimate', forecasting a slight decrease in total food crop production to 4.78 million tons, down by 0.8% from the previous year. This estimate is based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors including weather conditions, pest outbreaks, and fertilizer supply and demand situations. The report indicates mixed results across different crops, with rice production seeing a slight increase due to favorable weather conditions, while corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes are expected to decrease due to adverse weather conditions such as drought and heavy rainfall. Wheat and barley production is expected to surge by 27.3%, attributing the increase to favorable winter conditions and moderate temperatures until May. However, soybean production is projected to decrease by 5.3% due to moistures damage from heavy rainfall and reduced seed weight from high temperatures during the growth period.