In recent days, the export prices of Vietnamese rice have continued to top rice exporting countries, surpassing those of Thailand, India, and Pakistan. Typically, on January 22, the export price was at US$523 per ton for five-percent broken rice, $498 per ton for 25-percent broken rice, and $438 per ton for 100-percent broken rice. Last year, the export prices of Vietnamese rice also took the highest position many times.
In recent days, farmers in the Mekong Delta have been flexibly sowing the winter-spring rice crop early to avoid drought and saltwater intrusion at the end of the rice crop. Not only using high-quality rice varieties, but the percentage of farmers using certified rice varieties has also increased rapidly. These are important turning points in improving the quality of rice to enhance the value of Vietnamese rice in the international market.
Although the Mekong Delta officially entered this year’s rainy and stormy season but small amplitude of floods made local people worry about drought-related natural hazards for the dry season of 2020-2021.
Agriculture is an important sector of Vietnam especially the Mekong Delta, considered as the 'Rice bowl' of Vietnam; however, climate change and drought have made serious impacts on agriculture in the region.
A conference on strengthening measures responding to drought, saline intrusion, water shortage and natural disasters in the North-Central region has just taken place in Vinh City of Nghe An Province.
Prolonged hot temperatures have been causing difficulties to farmers in the Central provinces of Nghe An and Thanh Hoa. Thousands of hectares of rice were killed because of this record hot weather.
The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Soc Trang Province and overseas Vietnamese in Australia yesterday presented gifts to people severely affected by drought and salt water intrusion.
From the beginning of this year, the developments in the weather were quite complicated, causing disadvantages for agricultural production. Fortunately, thanks to proactive suitable coping measures, farmers in provinces in the Mekong Delta achieved goods results in the winter-spring rice crop and now are harvesting summer-autumn rice crop with the expectation of good harvest and high price.
Saltwater intrusion and drought had damaged 16,500 hectares of winter rice crop grown on shrimp-farming land in Ca Mau Province last year; of which, 14,000 hectares of winter rice had been completely lost.
