VIET NAM (30 July)
Harvesting of the winter/spring paddy crop was completed in July. The 2003 output is estimated at 33.5 million tonnes, slightly lower than the record crop in the previous year.
2003/04 rice exports are forecast at 4.1 million tonnes, marginally higher than last year. Vietnam exported 2.64 million ton of rice worth $496 million in the first seven months of this year, a year-on-year basis increase of 38.1 percent in volume and 19.2 percent in value, according to Government data. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has worked out a plan to build an export-oriented rice growing area in the Hong (Red) River Delta- the northern region’s rice basket. The planned export-oriented rice growing area is designed to cover 300 000 hectares concentrating in 25 districts.
The outcome of the 2003 maize is estimated at 2 million tonnes, slightly below last year’s, but above average. In a bid to attain self-sufficiency in maize, the Government plans to expand the area under maize to 1.2 million hectares by 2005 and increase the use of hybrid seeds to reach an annual production in excess of 4 million tonnes.