Vietnam to Sell 1.5 Mln Tons of Rice to the Philippines Annually

Vietnam agreed to sell around 1.5 million tons of rice to the Republic of Philippines annually starting this year, unless natural disasters and harvest losses in the country, foreign medias reported.

 

The Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed by Philippines’ Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and Vietnamese Industry and Trade Minister Vu Huy Hoang on the sidelines of the Philippine Reform Agenda Forum organized by the World Bank at the Fontana Conference Center in Clark Freeport in Pampanga province.

 

The rice contract between the two countries will be subject to market and production conditions and to terms allowable under applicable laws of both countries, the agreement showed.

 

The Vietnam Southern Food Corp. and the local National Food Authority are the only government agencies authorized to implement the terms of the MoA, which will remain in effect for three years.

 

The agreement will be automatically renewed for another three years, unless terminated by either of the parties through diplomatic channels six months prior to the intended date of termination.

 

The Philippines has been the biggest importer of Vietnamese rice. Last year, Vietnam sold 1.454 million tons of rice worth US$364.87 million to the Philippines, down 3.71 per cent on year in volume but up 8.3 per cent in value. Almost all of the imports were 25 per cent broken rice.

 

Early this year, the Philippines asked Vietnam to sell 1.5 million tons of rice to the country, accounting for 71 per cent of its total rice import volume. (Xinhua, AP, Vietnam News Briefs Mar 26)