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Manila: The Philippines sought Thailand's agreement on Thursday to supply more rice for Manila's inventories, and Japan said it will release some of its huge rice stockpiles to ease high global demand.
The world's biggest rice importer, the Philippines says it has contracted for 1.7 million tonnes of the staple to fill a ten per cent domestic production gap this year, and wants to buy an additional 675,000 tonnes as buffer stocks for the last quarter of the year.
Additional supplies
The government has secured contracts with Vietnam for up to 1.5 million tonnes and Japan for 200,000 tonnes, and is in talks with Thailand - the top exporter - over additional supplies.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was scheduled to meet with President Gloria Arroyo later yesterday.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said earlier the rice agreement with Thailand was unlikely to be signed this week because more work needs to be done.
Rice prices in Asia have tripled this year, with the regional benchmark hitting $1,038 (Dh3,812) a tonne Wednesday for Thai 100 per cent grade B white rice.
US rice futures, meanwhile, have fallen by about 20 per cent over the last month and fetched $20.20 (Dh74.19) per 45 kilogrammes on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday.
Prices have been lifted by growing demand, rising fuel prices, cuts in agriculture funding, increasing use of food crops for biofuels, financial speculation and bad weather.
Yap said Asian exporters Thailand and Vietnam have expressed concern that the Philippines' aggressive buying was driving up prices.
He said his government preferred to negotiate directly with other governments rather than buying rice at public auctions.
Meanwhile a Japanese Foreign Ministry aid official, Shigeru Kondo, said Tokyo is going to release several million dollars in an emergency food aid plan that includes the distribution of rice, grains, beans and other foods in twelve countries worldwide, including Afghanistan, by international relief agencies.
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