BANGKOK - Thailand and Vietnam, the world's two largest rice exporters, face severe drought conditions that threaten to severely undermine this year's crops and global supplies. Climate change and El Nino are variously being blamed for the unusually hot weather and lack of rainfall, which began with an early end to last year's tropical rainy season.For Thailand, which accounts for about one-third of global rice exports, analysts are provisionally predicting a drop of at least one million tons. On June 4, Thai officials declared 53 provinces as disaster areas because of severe water shortages. The Ministry of Interior's disaster prevention and mitigation department said nearly 6.5 million people had been adversely impacted by drought. Full Story
