Favorable weather led to increased agricultural output in most countries in the Far East and Oceania during 1973. Bangladesh, Thailand, India, and the Philippines showed the largest increases in agricultural production, while the Khmer Republic, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka had reduced output. Per capita food production also advanced in most countries. Rice production in the Far East totaled 117 million tons—up 11 percent from the drought-affected 1972 crop. Rice output increased in all the major

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... rice-producing countries of the region. India's rice crop advanced 13 percent to a record 43.5 million tons, but was only slightly above the 1971 outturn. U.S. agricultural exports to the Far East and Oceania totaled $5.51 billion in 1973—up nearly 87 percent from the previous year, while U.S. agricultural imports from the region increased 37 percent to $2.28 billion. Continued high prices should enable U.S. farm exports to the Far East and Oceania to expand in 1974, although the rate of increase should be less rapid than in 1973.