* North Korea needs 305,000 T of international food aid
* Bad weather erased hopes of a strong rise in food output
* UN's mission found no cereal stocks in producing areas
(Adds comments, details)
By Svetlana Kovalyova
MILAN, Nov 16 (Reuters) - North Korea is facing a grain deficit of 542,000 tonnes with government imports covering only a part of demand, the United Nations said providing a rare insight in the food situation of the impoverished country.
North Korea's cereal import requirement in the 2010/11 marketing year is estimated at 867,000 tonnes, while the government plans to import commercially only about 325,000 tonnes, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Food Programme said on Tuesday.
"About five million people living in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will continue to face food shortages despite a relatively good harvest and a slight increase in food supply," the FAO and WFP said in a report after a joint mission to the country in September.
The mission, which visited seven of North Korea's 10 provinces, accounting for about 90 percent of its cereal output, recommended providing some 305,000 tonnes of international food aid to the most vulnerable population there, the agencies said.
"The cereal rations provided by the government .... in 2010/11 would likely contribute about half the daily energy requirements," said Joyce Luma, chief of WFP's Food Security Analysis Unit and co-leader of the mission. "A small shock in the future could trigger a severe negative impact and will be difficult to contain if these chronic deficits are not effectively managed," Luma said in a statement which accompanied the report.
NO CEREAL STOCKS FOUND
The mission has found no cereal stocks in the warehouses it visited, while low quality maize available for distribution in October came from the summer harvest and contained excessive moisture and contaminants due to inadequate drying facilities.
Rainstorms and floods in North Korea have led to crop losses and dashed hopes of a strong rise in cereals output this year which had been based on improved supplies of power, fertilisers, pesticides, tractors and diesel fuel, the report said.
Staple food output increased by only 3 percent in 2010/11 from 2009/10, it said.
North Korea's total annual cereals output has stagnated at around 4.5 million tonnes in recent years, compared to needs of 5.35 million tonnes, according to the mission estimates.
North Korea needs to upgrade storage facilities for potatoes, improve grain drying methods, increase production of high-protein legumes and develop a national policy to provide greater support to household gardens, the report said. (Editing by Keiron Henderson)
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