MANILA, Philippines—The government may be importing less than 500,000 metric tons of rice from Vietnam next month to help shore up domestic supplies in 2009.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap said possible purchase, which would be the first importation in 2009, may be signed in January by Hanoi officials.

He said the government was leaving it to Vietnam to make the announcement.

“We gave our prices to them. It is up to them to decide on it,” Yap said.

Yap was reacting to a news report on Wednesday that the Philippines and Vietnam were negotiating for a government-to-government deal concerning the purchase of 500,000 MT of 25 percent “brokens” rice.

The Philippines was reported to be asking Vietnam to allow it to buy rice at only $380 per MT, way below the current Thai benchmark price of $520 per MT.

Yap said the country remains in constant communication with international trading partners like Thailand and Vietnam concerning its rice import needs.

But with the current global economic scenario, “it would be better to explore alternative ways of procurement so we do not drive up prices.”

For 2008, the Philippines, the world’s biggest importer of rice, purchased 2.3 million MT amid skyrocketing prices of the staple.

The country’s tenders for huge volumes of the grain in early 2008 were partly blamed for the price of rice surging to a high of over $1,200 per MT. In December 2007, the price of rice was only around $400 per MT.

For 2009, agriculture officials said the country is set to import at least 1.5 million MT of rice, lower than this year’s importation because of ample domestic supplies.

Yap earlier said the country may end up with a national rice stockpile of 90 to 120 days worth of national daily consumption, which is pegged at 33,100 MT.

The Interagency Committee on Rice and Corn is set to meet this month to approve purchase proposals. The group is responsible for deciding on the prices and volume of yearly rice imports.