The government estimates that North Korea produced around four-point-one million tons of food last year.

A government official said Wednesday that the estimated figure is around 200-thousand tons less than in 2008 and puts the impoverished state around one-point-three million tons short of food for this year.

Experts attribute the drop in food production to poor crop yields of grains and cereals following floods and cold weather as well as the fact that the South’s provision of fertilizer to the North was suspended starting in 2008.

Every year, the government issues estimates of the North’s food production based on assessments by the Rural Development Administration and foreign organizations as well as the figures announced by Pyongyang.