Saline intrusion affecting production cost of fruits in the Mekong Delta

Some large fruit growing areas in the Mekong Delta are seriously lacking freshwater supply due to saline intrusion. For nearly a month now, many farmers have had to buy freshwater at 4.29 - 6.44 USD / cubic meter to water their crops. Moreover, farmers have to use plastic tanks to transport water to their farms and many farmers must rent vehicles to transport the water - the rental fee for such vehicles can be up to 17.18 USD / day. This increases the production cost and thus the final selling price of fruits.