HO CHI MINH CITY, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The winter-spring rice crop in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam's rice hub, has just ended, with its total output dropped by 361,000 tons to 9.62 million tons, the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said Thursday.
Key reasons for the smaller output include lasting effects of saltwater encroachment last year, unfavorable weather this year, and outbreaks of diseases and pests.
Rice prices in the southern delta are now decreasing slightly to 4,400-6,300 Vietnamese dong (0.2-0.3 U.S. dollars) per km. Meanwhile, farmers in the delta are sowing summer-autumn rice in fields with a total area of 1.1 million hectares.
Vietnam exported over 2.3 million tons of rice worth more than 1 billion U.S. dollars in the first five months of this year, gaining year-on-year rises of 2.1 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, the ministry said.
