HANOI. Nov 1,0: Vietnam exported two million tonnes of rice this year. 1.7 million tonnes officially and the rest through barter deals, with China, the agriculture ministry said Wednesday, reports AFP.

The figure, recorded at the end of October, meets Hanoi's 1994 objectives which had to be revised down after ricent flooding In the Mekong Delta, the country's rice basket.

Earlier, officials had pre- • dieted 2.2 million tonnes of rice sales abroad but suspended exports in October to conserve stocks and prevent famine in some rural areas.

Cutbacks will stay in force till end November, while officials evaluate the extent Of flood damage, restore production and curb speculation, an agriculture- ministry spokesman explained.

Vietnam officially exported 1.7 million tonnes of rice during the first 10 months this year, nearly hitting the 1.8 million figure it recorded for the whole of last year, the spokesman noted.

Some 300.000 tonnes, of rice were sold in semi-official border trade with China.

Natural disasters including-typhoons and floods since late summer destroyed more than a million tonnes of rice, according to official estimates.

The Mekong Delta, the country's most fertile region, lost 300.000 tonnes of rice in the worst destruction In 30 years. .

Vietnam, which became the third largest rice exporter in the world after Thailand and the United States in 1989. had hoped lor record sales tins year. after bagging big orders from Malaysia: Indonesia and il«- Middle East.