Rice, coffee zones spared in Vietnam's northern floods

HANOI-Flash floods and landslides sweeping through northern Vietnam damaged only a small rice area, sparing the country's main production zones for coffee and rice, the government said.
A government report said on Monday 8,698 hectares (21,500 acres) of rice and agricultural crops have been destroyed since late last week in the region, which produces rice, corn and other crops enough to support local consumption.The report said at least 97 people were killed and 48 others missing in the flash floods and landslides brought by tropical storm Kammuri.Disaster officials say with thousands of people being displaced and their homes and fields destroyed or inundated, demand for food is rising but is often met from national reserves.Vietnam produces about 36 million tonnes of paddy from 4 million hectares each year, but more than 90 percent of its commercial rice comes from the southern Mekong Delta food basket.The northern flood-hit region is more than 1,500 km (930 miles) away from Vietnam's Central Highlands coffee belt, while the Delta rice basket lies further south, with a distance of nearly 1,900 km from the north.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSHAN31659520080811

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