00:00The bilateral rice trade of the Philippines and Vietnam is a big help for the stable supply of rice in the country.
00:07The details of the bilateral rice trade are provided by Beagaza de Guzman.
00:13The bilateral rice trade between the Philippines and Vietnam is still active.
00:18This is what Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam,
00:21Maynardo Montealegre, said in an interview with Radio Pilipinas World Service.
00:26A large part of our trade is what we call importing rice here in Vietnam.
00:33At this point, more than 90% of our rice needs come from here in Vietnam.
00:41Vietnam is one of the largest sources of rice in the Philippines,
00:45which is a big help to the country's supply.
00:47According to the government, in the first five months of 2023,
00:52the Philippines imported 1.5 million tons of rice from Vietnam,
00:57equivalent to US$772.4 million,
01:01or 42.3% of Vietnam's total rice export in the past period.
01:07This week, the Department of Agriculture declared a food security emergency
01:12to lower the price of rice in the market.
01:15Under the declaration, the National Food Authority
01:19will issue rice buffer stocks to help millions of Filipinos,
01:24according to the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
01:28From PBS Radyo Pilipinas, Beagaza de Guzman for Balitang Pambansa.
