The staple East Timor Food consists of Rice. Besides, the other food crops grown here include Maize, sweet potatoes, cassava, and Taro. The vegetables that form a part of the East Timor Food consist of cabbage, spinach, beans, cowpeas and onions. In fact in many houses poultry, pigs and goats are domesticated and they also serve as a source of meat. Besides, East Timor Food also includes fish as a part of it. Also, the Timorese people cultivate bananas, watermelons, mangoes, papaya and coconuts.
East Timor Food recipes make the use of a variety of spices. Japanese, Italian, Chinese, Portuguese and Thai foods are also available here.
East Timor however faces the problem of shortage of food supply due to factors like low productivity, drought, low income, and the absence of proper supply system. In fact around one third of the East Timor population faces the problem of shortage of food supply. The shortage in food supply becomes all the more acute during the months of October, November and February, March. Timor Leste has often experienced drought conditions due to the El Nino climatic conditions. In the year 2002 and 2003 Timor Leste faced consecutive droughts and henceforth the irregularity of rain has made drought a chronic problem in East Timor.
The problem of limited food is felt all the more in the rural areas where due to high prices the poor have been denied access to food. The shortage of food in Timor Leste is evident form the fact that a high percentage of the population suffers from malnutrition.