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THE
Philippine government remains hopeful that the proposed
Organization of Rice-Exporting Countries (Orec),
composed of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma
or Myanmar, will consider the needs of its
rice-importing neighbors like the Philippines.
National
Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Jessup Navarro noted
that the five countries planning to put up an Opec-style
rice cartel in Southeast Asia are members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the
Asean Food Safety Reserve Board, as well as the East
Asia Emergency Rice Reserve (EAERR).
“I am
hopeful that the planned Orec will take into
consideration the food needs of its neighboring
countries,” said Navarro in an interview Monday.
Earlier,
Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter, pitched the
idea of forming the Orec together with four of its
neighbors so they can gain control over rice price.
So far,
rice prices have already reached more than $1,000 per
metric ton, including freight and cost.
Thailand
noted that while Southeast Asia is the “food center” of
the world, the region has had little influence on the
price.
Philippine officials expressed concern over the proposal
to create the Orec, saying it would cause greater
problems as the world grapples with a food crisis.
Senate
Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan said in a statement
earlier that the Orec was “anti-poor and will only
exacerbate hunger and poverty rather than ease it.”
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