THE National Food Authority (NFA) disclosed that Hanoi has committed to deliver some 10,000 metric tons (MT) of rice to the Philippines under the East Asia Emergency Rice Reserve (EAERR).

NFA Administrator Jessup Navarro also said that Manila is now negotiating with Thailand for the delivery of 15,000 MT of rice under the EAERR within the year.

Navarro said the Philippine government is currently asking for additional volume under the EAERR from other rice-producing countries in Asia.

The Philippine government is keen on tapping the EAERR to augment its rice requirement for 2008. Earlier, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will allow the importation of as much as 2.1 MMT of rice this year.

The latest tender offered by the NFA, an attached  agency of the DA, failed to attract enough bidders, prompting the Philippines to consider all alternatives in sourcing its rice requirement, including the EAERR.

Earlier, Navarro estimated that a total of 200,000 MT of rice have been pledged by Asean+3 countries (Japan, South Korea and China) as buffer stock.

“The biggest volume was pledged by Japan. I think it’s more than 100,000 MT,” he said.

The EAERR is a program that was conceived to stabilize the price of the rice in the region, especially during times of calamities and emergency situations, such as sudden tightness in supply due to floods or droughts.

The EAERR was approved by Asean in a meeting in October 2002. Pilot-testing of the project was undertaken in 2004 up to 2007. Its implementation was extended twice.

Based on a previous plan, countries participating in the program are planning to hike the region’s staple reserve from 87,000 MT to 1.75 MMT to stabilize the price and supply of the commodity.

Member-countries pledge stocks during an annual meeting of the Asean Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Those with excess production are urged to pledge a certain percentage of their production.

The earmarked reserves, operated under forwarding contracts by pledging countries, would serve as a regional rice pool to cope with price fluctuations resulting from unusual market conditions, such as when natural calamities like flooding or drought result in an upsurge in rice prices.

If the volume is unused for emergencies, the volume will be used for the poverty-alleviation programs of its member-countries.

The volume of 87,000 MT of rice reserve was set up in 1979 when Asean had only five members. The reserve was used only once in 1980 by the Philippines.

Member-countries of Asean are in agreement that the emergency-rice stockpile is essential in light of the current tight supply of food staples, such as rice and corn, in the international market.

The price of dressed chicken should not be more than P100 a kilogram (kg) at the retail level since farm- gate prices have even gone down in recent weeks, according to poultry raisers.

SUBIC BAY—Noting the failure by subcontractors to implement even commonsense safety measures that would have prevented the recent fatal accidents at the Hanjin shipyard here, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) on Thursday said it would close down companies found to disregard safety requirements at the jobsite.

THE National Food Authority (NFA) disclosed that Hanoi has committed to deliver some 10,000 metric tons (MT) of rice to the Philippines under the East Asia Emergency Rice Reserve (EAERR).

Since the 2005 World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference in Hong Kong, the Philippines—as a key member of the so-called G-20 and Nama 11—has maintained that negotiations for new multilateral trade modalities should be sequential with agriculture going ahead first, followed by industrial goods and services.

KABASALAN, Zamboanga Sibugay—A small group of municipal fishermen-turned-fish-cage operators in this town are going big time with their innovative livelihood projects, transforming their community into an ecotourism destination with the support of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

KABALASAN, Zamboanga, Sibugay—if you happen to see a bottled calamansi juice in the market, check the label and most probably, the nutritious, ready-to-drink beverage was manufactured by the Nazareth Women’s Association from this chiefly calamansi-producing town. 

KABASALAN, Zamboanga Sibugay—Agrarian-reform beneficiaries who took over the 920-hectare rubber plantation of Philippine Rubber Project Co. Inc. in this town have found more opportunities for work.