per cent below the production level fer a ncnnal crop year. The area under cane cultivation contir,ued to sho.-1 a declit:ir;q trend, fallinq from 211,400 acres in 1980 to 209,070 acres iD 1981. There is considerable conoer·n at the rapid declir.e of the price en the world mad:et. The averaqe \;orld price of suc.;ar ir< 1'080 \vas £292 per met.ric tonnes; it fell to £202 ir: lSCl ar:d slumped to under .£100 in the ear2..y mcrths of 1982 -well belo\i the local cost of production. Consequen:.ly, t:.e hiahly satisfactory level of production of about 700,000 tonne1> whic~1 is expected fer the 1981/82 suqar crop will unfort.urately not brir,q in er:cuqh much- needed foreiqn exchar.qe. t·1orc'-'-'''r, fclln:inq tl;e crar::atic price fall, the Urited States market, which usee: tc absorb ncsc cf the surplus exported from Hauritius, ccr:siderably restricted its im­ ports in order to protect its own suqar producers. l"s a result l'-iauritian exports cf sccar tc the Ur:itec1 States fell frcrr: ap­ proximately 125,000 tcnnes to a Irere 2(., 000 tor:r:es. 58. In S\Jaziland, \Jerk or. a r:ew suqar-rrill with a rated capacity cf 250 tonrJes of car:e per hcur -has been fir:alizec, ar.d a seccr:ci mill is tc be doubled in size from 150 to 3()0 tcru~s. I r; · 1981/82, abc.ut 30,796 hectares of suqar-can::: ~;;ere harvested, aqa inst 25, 82S he eta res in 1980/81. Eea n·!hile, ca r.e suqar production rose frcrr: 2,782,339 tcnnes in 1980/81 to 3,222,461 tonnes in 1981/82. Suqar production increased by 39,607 metric tor:r.es tc a record 349,210 tonr:es, representinq an ir:crease cf 12.8 per cer:t ever 19€0/81. 47 r; / ECA I C~; • 9 I 5 5. Livestcck 59. Althcuqh there is scq.:e fer siqLlficar·t irnprcvl:t·er·ts ir! the perforn.C!nce ci tl.t: liv..:stocJ:. sectcr, ard althcuqh sever"} billicr: 