Vietnam's rice output up

HANOI (AFP): Rice output in Vietnam is expected to reach 23 million tons this year despite floods that have wiped out large areas of paddy fields in the key Mekong Delta area, a report said.

Production is expected to rise 400,000 tons this year due to use of improved strains and a larger area under cultivation, the Vietnam News Agency said.

An Giang and Tien Giang provinces, the two worst hit by flooding in September and October, have still managed to meet their targets this year despite the inundation, among the most serious to strike Vietnam this century, the official news agency said.

An estimated one million tons of rice was lost during the floods, which covered 1.5 million hectares (3.6 million acres) of land, causing damage that could cost the region more than US$150 million.