Vietnam's rice output up

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.