Singapore, April 16 - Vietnam's stormy season started Tuesday with the formation of its first tropical storm this year off the country's central coast, a government official said Wednesday.
"The storm did not reach the coffee or rice growing regions of central Vietnam and is now headed towards southern China," the official with the Dak Lak Trade Center said. The state-run center facilitates trade in the province.
However, according to the meteorology center, Vietnam will see more and stronger typhoons this year than in 2007 due to the La Nina phenomenon. Typhoons that reach the central coffee-growing region could adversely impact the country's coffee output this year.
The region's leading producer of coffee and rice is hit by an average of 10-14 storms a year.