Yemen has exported 570 million Yemeni rials ($4.4 million) worth of agricultural produce during the first half of 2001, according to the deputy director of the Yemeni Agricultural Export Center in Hudaida, Nassir Ahmad Al-Shaikh.
The sector has recorded a 90,000-ton surplus of vegetables, fruits and other crops during the same period, Al-Sheikh added, reported Al-Sharq Al-Awsat daily.
Yemen’s primary food crops are bananas, barley, coffee, maize, potatoes and wheat. In terms of export worth, the most valuable agricultural commodities are roasted coffee, fish, hides, cigarettes and grapes.
Al-Sheikh added that Yemen had exported 9,634 tons of bananas during the first half of 2001. According to UNFAO figures, the country produced 87,663 tons of bananas during the whole of last year.
The agriculture sector contributes 14 percent of the Yemeni GDP and is the sole source of income for over 70 percent of the 19 million population, according to officail figures. The total value of agricultural exports in 1998 was $53.5 million, while the total value of agricultural imports in 1998 was $913.7 million. — (Mena Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
