The FAO's Rice Market Monitor, a quarterly review of rice production around the world, has suggested that there has been a dramatic decrease in rice production in North Korea due to a mixture of a lack of rainfall and above average temperatures in the run up to the planting months.

 

The limited functionality of important farm equipment has surely also added to the constraints of farm output. The FAO has, although final observations have not been carried out, suggested that farm output of rice could have dropped by as much as 7% compared to 2011 levels. This undoubtedly means that more food aid will be required for North Korea.