RP inks accord to purchase rice from Vietnam
By Amy R. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:14:00 03/26/2008
CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga -- The Philippine government signed here on Wednesday an agreement to purchase 1.5 million metric tons (MT) of white rice from Vietnam.
According to Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Xu Xuan Truong, the Hanoi government will "try its best to supply" the volume despite a projected decline in his country's rice production.
The memorandum of agreement was signed on the sidelines of the two-day 2008 Philippine Development Forum.
The Manila-Hanoi Pact states that the "Vietnamese government agrees to sell, unless under circumstances of natural disaster and harvest loss, and the Philippines to buy up to 1.5 million MT of Vietnamese white rice annually…starting year 2008, subject to market and production conditions and to terms allowable under applicable laws of both
countries."
The Vietnam Southern Food Corp. and the local National Food Authority are the only government agencies authorized to implement the terms of the memorandum of agreement, which will remain in effect for three years.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap said the agreement move will help beef up stockpiles and guarantee an ample supply of rice.
"We hope that at least half of this volume will arrive by July, in time for the start of the lean season," he said.
Yap added that this brings total rice procurement to at least 2.7 million tons, assuring the public that the country has enough rice for the whole year.
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