Philippines gets Vietnam commitment to continuous rice supply

MANILA, April 2 (Reuters) - The Philippines, the world's top
rice buyer, said on Thursday it has secured Vietnam's commitment
for continuous supply of the staple foood, which may include a
300,000-tonne importation, under an existing bilateral trade
agreement.
The announcement comes after Vietnam, the world's
third-largest rice exporter, stopped signing new deals as it
checks whether it has sufficient domestic supplies to cope
during the coronavirus outbreak. Agriculture Secretary William Dar said he had received a
letter from Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh of Vietnam's Ministry
of Agriculture and Development expressing Hanoi's commitment to
honour its existing supply contracts with Philippine importers.
"The government of Vietnam always considers rice trading
with the Philippines is not only of economic importance, but
also of significance for our good diplomatic relations between
the two nations," Le said in the letter, according to Dar.
The letter was sent after Dar early this week said about
1.38 million tonnes of rice imported by Philippine traders have
yet to be delivered, including 1.25 million tonnes ordered from
Vietnam.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Tuesday
his country needs to sell rice but exports must be controlled to
ensure food security. Dar has sought to allay concerns about a tightening of
domestic supply at a time when many parts of the country have
been locked down to contain the spread of the coronavirus, while
the world's top rice exporters have also been hit by the
pandemic.
"Le also said that Hanoi is also working on possible
governmental agreement with Manila on rice trade," Dar said in a
statement, without mentioning any volume.
The Philippine government this week said it was looking to
import 300,000 tonnes of rice to ensure sufficient domestic
supply of the staple while it seeks to contain the spread of the
coronavirus in the Southeast Asian country.