Vietnam to sign inter-government rice pact with Philippines

September 7, 2023 - 3:59 PM
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Farmers dry their rice crops in the middle of the sun at Brgy. Paligue in Candaba, Pampanga on April 1, 2023. (STAR/ Ernie Peneredondo)

HANOI Vietnam will soon sign an inter-government agreement on the rice trade with the Philippines to help the countries ensure food security, its government said in a statement on Thursday.

The announcement followed a meeting between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Indonesia.

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It did not provide further details about the planned agreement.

Vietnam was the world’s third-largest rice exporter last year after India and Thailand, and the Philippines is its largest buyer.

India, which accounts for more than 40% of the global rice trade, in July ordered a halt to its largest export category to calm domestic prices, sending global prices to a 15-year high and stoking concern over already high global food inflation.