Vietnam has decided to lower its rice export target to 4.4 million MT from the earlier planned 4.5 million MT in order to boost food reserves after severe flooding in several provinces in the country in the past few weeks.

Vietnam, the world's second-largest exporter of rice, has seen its crop fields and homes flooded since Oct. 3 when Typhoon Lekima struck, triggering some of the worst floods in decades in the north-central provinces.