Vietnam spent over $217.6 million importing pesticides for crops in the first seven months of 2007, an on year rise of 21.6 per cent, latest report by the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed.
Vietnam expended $90.3 million on Chinese pesticide, followed by Singapore, India, and Japan with $43.1 million, $20.4 million and nearly $15.1 million, respectively.
Germany, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand were also big providers who sold $10.3 million, $7.9 million, $5.69 million and $5.54 million pesticide to Vietnam in January-July period.
Last year, Vietnam’s total expenditure on pesticide imports was $299 million, up 22.6 per cent compared with that in 2005.
As middle of August, farmers nationwide cultivated nearly 2.1 million hectares of paddy for summer-autumn crop, down 11.3 per cent on year, including 1.62 million in the Mekong Delta.
The farmers also farmed 906,000ha of maize (up 2.4 per cent on year), 140,000ha of batata (down 0.9 per cent), 375,600ha of cassava (down 0.5 per cent), 218,000ha of peanut (down 1.3 per cent), 161,600ha of soybeans (down 6 per cent), and 602,500ha of vegetable (down 0.45 per cent).
Shift from paddy cultivation area to aquaculture and industrial tree and prolonged drought are seen as major reasons for paddy area in the Mekong Delta, the Vietnam’s granary.
Meanwhile, flood and typhoon happening in both central highlands and central provinces slowed down cultivation here, according to the General Statistics Office’s report. (GSO Aug Edition,
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