The upcoming winter-spring crop in many regions in Vietnam is likely to be affected by a potential drought, local newspaper People's Army reported Tuesday.

The Central Highlands region and the southern region may face serious water scarcity and seawater encroachment between February and April 2007, warned the country's Central Hydrometeorology Center.

In the dry season lasting from December 2006 to May 2007, flows in rivers in the central and southern regions will be equivalent to 60-80 percent of the average amount over the past many years. The temperature in the many regions, especially the northern region, in the last two months has been much higher than the average over the past many years, the center said.

Now, the autumn-winter rice crop in the southern Mekong Delta, Vietnam's biggest rice hub, is being badly affected by pests and diseases.

Vietnam is expected to harvest 38-39 million tons of paddy rice in 2006, up from nearly 33 million tons in 2005, according to the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. It has decided to export 5 million tons of rice at most this year, down from over 5.2 million tons last year, in a move to ensure food security.

Source: Xinhua