MT. SAMAT, Bataan -- The United States will help the Philippines in easing the rice problem through continuous supply of the staple and research, its envoy here said Wednesday.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney said her country was "ready to make [rice] available as much as the Philippines [will] need."

"We will always make our supplies available for export if the Philippines needs rice supply," Kenney told reporters in a chance interview here at the 66th anniversary of “Araw ng Kagitingan.”

The government recently imported about 50,000 metric tons of rice from the US, which it sold at a subsidized-price of P25 pesos per kilo.

Kenney also said that the US was contributing to rice research to help develop a variety that she said was more nutritious and more disease-free.

"We are very excited to be part of that so yes, you can count on us," she added.