VIET NAM (24 May)
Harvesting of the winter/spring paddy crop in the Mekong River Delta is due for completion at the end of June. Rice cultivated areas for the early summer-autumn crops in the Mekong Delta region decreased by approximately 130 000 hectares due to drought. Production is expected to fall sharply.
Vietnam, the world’s second largest rice exporter after Thailand, is likely to ship around 4.1 million tonnes of rice this year, same level as in 2004, due to prolonged drought. The country exported some 1.55 million tonnes of rice in the first four months of this year, representing a slight fall of 9.9 percent compared to the same period of last year.
Central Khanh Hoa province has provided a total of 1 000 tonnes of rice in relief aid to 66 635 people in areas badly hit by droughts.