Vietnam to sustain rice exports despite failed crops

Local farmers will expand cultivaltion area of the autumn-winter crop by 200,000 hectares to meet annual export demand since rice output from the winter-spring crop fell by 10-15 percent due to prolonged drought and salinity said Professor Nguyen Hong Son, director of the institute.

The Mekong Delta has seen 180,000 hectares of rice damaged by drought and saltwater. Rice output is estimated to fall to 10.94 million tons for the winter-spring crop, down 2 percent from the same period last year.

Kien Giang, one of the hardest hit province in the Mekong Delta, sets a target of 4.7 million tons of rice in 2016, but natural hazards has cut its output by 200,000 tons compared to the plan.

Nguyen Van Tam, director of Kien Giang's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province would make up for the fallen output by increasing the cultivation area by about 33 percent to 120,000 hectares.