Floods submerge Vietnam's dragon fruit farms

Hanoi: Floods submerged hundreds of hectares of dragon fruit farms in south Vietnam, residents told AFP on Thursday, with many villagers forced to seek shelter on higher ground. The flooding in Binh Thuan province was triggered by heavy rain and the discharge of water from an irrigation reservoir on Tuesday and Wednesday. "We lost all our dragon fruit and cucumber crops this year," Ho Van Trung, 66, told AFP. Vietnam dragon fruit exports generated a record $1.8 billion in 2018, but the figure has been declining in recent years. Binh Thuan province is home to Vietnam's biggest growing area, measuring 28,000 hectares and producing 600,000 tonnes of fruit each year. The fiery red and green fruit with a scaly skin that gives it its name thrives in hot and dry conditions, but, as part of the cactus family, cannot stand immersion in water. On Thursday, farmers in two villages in Binh Thuan's Ham My commune said the floods in the area were "unprecedented". "My house and my gardens ...