Drought and salt water intrusion in the central region and Mekong Delta have resulted in a negative agriculture production growth.

The central region and Mekong Delta have faced drought and salt water intrusion

Statistics released on March 25 by the General Statistics Office showed that industrial, construction and services sectors all recorded growth of over 6%. Meanwhile agriculture, forestry and aquaculture posted -1.23% growth because the output of winter-spring rice crop in the Mekong Delta and the winter crop in northern region dropped dramatically.

The country’s first quarter GDP growth stood at 5.46%, down on the 6.12% recorded during the same period last year.

Nguyen Bich Lam, head of the General Statistic Office blamed the results on unfavourable weather. He said, "The monsoon season arrived late and ended too early so the water levels of many rivers are low. The water level of Mekong River dropped to a century low. As a result, salt water has intruded 40-60km inland."

Salt water has now affected all the cities and provinces in the Mekong Delta. Eight provinces have announced disaster status due to drought and saline intrusion. Kien Giang Province has lost over 35,300 out of 56,000 hectares and Ben Tre Province lost 14,700 out of 20,000 hectares of drought-affected area. 

In addition, severe drought for the whole of the first quarter is causing further damage.

The aquaculture sector has also faced various difficulties such as mass fish deaths in the north because of cold spells, pollution in the Dong Nai River in An Giang and Cai Vung River in Dong Thap Province and concerns over unstable and low prices for staples such as catfish.

The output of farmed white shrimp in the first three months dropped 6.9% on last year, to 32,600 tonnes.