The region is entering the harvest season and estimates output will be around 9.24 million tonnes.

The region, which comprises the Mekong Delta and south-eastern region, has planted 1.64 million hectares, down 46,000ha from last year, with the delta accounting for 42,000ha.

Harvesting summer – autumn rice in Vi Thanh city in Hau Giang province.

Speaking at a seminar in Hau Giang province this week, Le Thanh Tung, deputy head of the department, said the 42,000ha in the Mekong Delta are now used to grow high–value crops or for aquaculture.

The switch was due to the low prices rice farmers got for the 2018-2019 winter-spring crop and the delay in the arrival of rains in some areas.

The southern region has increased the rate of high-quality rice varieties it grows in the summer-autumn crop.

Specialty and fragrant varieties account for almost 25 percent, high-quality varieties for 44 percent, medium-quality varieties for 19 percent, and other varieties including glutinous for the remaining 12 percent.

For the upcoming autumn-winter crop, the department is considering two options for the Delta: planting 750,000ha, up 9,380ha from last year, or 700,000ha.

If the latter is chosen, 30,000 will be left inundated during the Mekong flooding season and other crops and aquatic species will be raised on the remaining area.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh said the main criterion is not the area but the safety of the crop.

The autumn-winter rice should be grown in areas with flood-prevention embankments, he said.

The ministry’s relevant departments should do the task of forecasting weather and availability of water properly so that each locality can draw up appropriate planting schedules, he said.

They should counsel farmers to focus on high-quality and fragrant rice varieties to meet export demand, he added.

Roasted grasshoppers – delicacy from the rice harvest

Roasted grasshoppers were very popular for families living in countryside as they are healthy and tasty.

Vietnam farmers enjoy lychee export price surge

The prices of lychee Vietnam exported to China have doubled over last year on the back of a poor harvest in the neighboring country.

Lychee enjoys stable selling price

(BGO) – As of June 10, Bac Giang province sold over 51,400 tonnes of lychee, up more than 4,550 tonnes comparing to the figure on June 9.

Sticky rice with perch – Discover the secret of ‘Xoi ca ro dong’

Sticky rice is a common dish, which can be found in almost every corner of Hanoi. But there is a unique sticky rice style served with “ro dong”, a local perch that can only found in rice fields.

Early lychees sold at high price

(BGO) – The early ripen lychees in Tan Yen and Luc Ngan districts in Bac Giang province are enjoying good consumption with high selling price. As of June 1, the fruits were sold at 40,000 VND (1.72 USD) per kilogram in Phuc Hoa commune (Tan Yen district) and 60,000  VND (2.57 USD) per kilogram in Luc Ngan district.  

Source: VNA