FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 06/01 - VIET NAM (29 May)
The monsoon season has arrived in May in the Mekong Delta and some areas in the Central Highlands with widespread heavy rains. Harvest of the winter-spring rice crop, the largest rice crop in the northern and southern parts of the country. A larger winter-spring crop is forecast this year in the Red River and Mekong River Deltas, as a result of extensive use of high yielding hybrid rice varieties.
Planting of the summer-fall rice is progressing in the south for harvest in October. In view of weaker rice prices, cropped area has declined, and in some areas farmers have switched from summer-fall rice cultivation to other more profitable crops. To prevent prices from falling, the Government purchased about 1 million tonnes of rice from local farmers in April. Quotas imposed on exports and fertilizer imports have been recently abolished to stimulate exports and production. About 2 million tonnes, or 50 percent of this year�s export target, have been shipped to buyers in Africa, Middle East and Asia.