North Korean drought could lead to problems in the meat industry
In recent years, estimates for grain yield in the country have stood at about 7 million tonnes (mt), accounting for around 27% of the domestic requirement. However, it has been estimated that this year’s harvest could fall to 4mt.
According to UN data, in recent months residents of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) daily food intake has only been 420g instead of the recommended 600g. In 2013, about 46% of the population in North Korea received a "sufficient" quantity of food. About 17% had only a "limited" food supply, while 38% were "on the verge of starvation".
"Official information on the meat industry of North Korea will not be published and, in fact, is classified. But approximate estimates suggest the average per capita rate of meat consumption in North Korea is around 8kg per year, despite the fact that about 60% of all inhabitants of the country do not eat meat much at all," said Stanislav Prokopenko, a political scientist and expert on Asian countries at Russia’s Voronezh State University.
According to rough estimates from Russian experts, as well as a number of observers who visited the country, the volume of meat production per 24 million people is no more than 200,000 tonnes of meat per year, with poultry accounting for more than half of this figure, and pork for the remainder.
"From 1995 to 1998, there was a famine in North Korea and it killed up to three million people," added Prokopenko. "This time, the drought is much more serious than it was then, so there concerns that the consequences may be even more severe. If there is no enhanced assistance for the meat industry, this will mean a complete disaster - animals will just be killed, as there will be nothing to feed them with."
However, a former Ukrainian diplomat in North Korea, speaking anonymously, claimed that despite the acute shortage of fodder for agricultural animals, the meat industry will be saved.
"I do not think the meat industry will experience any serious problems in connection with the future crisis. In fact, only the wealthiest part of North Korean society regularly eats meat and this sector of the population determines the country’s direction. And be sure, they will provide an uninterrupted supply of feedstuffs to the meat industry – even at the expense of grain supplies for the needs of the population," he said.
