World food needs and availabilities, 1986/87

Two standards are used to measure food requirements, in recognition of the need of these countries to both maintain stability in food staples and to improve progressively the diet of their populations: a status quo assessment, estimating food aid requirements to sustain food availability at recent average levels, and a nutrition-based assessment, representing the food aid required to meet average minimum dietary standards established by the FAO. An estimate is also made of the maximum absorbable imports if the highest historical levels of per capita food use and carryover stocks were to be maintained. Entries are provided for subregional geographic areas and individual countries. Each country entry summarizes events of the 1985/86 marketing year and provides tables of figures on recent and projected food production, imports, and use; import requirements, financial indicators; and additional food needs. General sections on world food production (focusing on cereal crops and oilseeds), the availability of food aid, and the impact of developing countries" financial situation on their ability to import food are offered first.