PM, ministries ponder agricultural output solutions

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung discussed measures to stabilize and develop agricultural production with relevant ministries Thursday.

At a meeting between the prime minister, the Industry and Trade Ministry, the Finance Ministry and other concerned agencies, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported the southern provinces' winter-spring rice crop output was expected to be 11.15 million tons, a 250-300 thousand tons year-on-year increase.

But the recent cold snap means Northern Vietnam is expected to produce its smallest crop in the past five years of about 6 million tons of rice.

The record cold spell in the north destroyed more than 110,000 hectares of rice paddies and rice-seeding fields, agricultural officials said on February 15.

The outlook for the nation's fishing industry was also grim, after fuel prices jumped 40 percent in the past two years, outpacing the 10-15 percent rise in the selling price of aquatic products.

Faced with such an escalation costs, many fishermen have stopped going to sea, significantly reducing output, the agriculture ministry said.