Vietnam ups rice export to Philippines
Updated
Vietnam has agreed to sell 600,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines, bring the country's rice import volume so far this year to 2.3 million tonnes and exceeding its import quota.
The Philippines agriculture secretary, Arthur Yap, did not give any details on the contract price.
In April, Vietnam had committed to supply up to 1.5 million tonnes of rice to the Philippines.
Mr Yap earlier said a rice deal with Vietnam would serve to fill buffer stocks for the last quarter of the year.
The Philippines, the biggest rice importer in the world, legislated against rice hoarding in April as the country struggled to cope with rising prices.
A professor from the University of the Philippines, Ernesto Pernia, told Australia Network television that a lack of investment in agriculture has let the country down.
"I think what has happened is what observers call the urban bias of development," he said.
"Policy makers have given more attention to urban development rather than rural development.
"The problem would have been far smaller, or probably a non-issue, if we had addressed the population issue in the same manner as Thailand."
