Philippine senators worried about proposed SEA rice cartel

Channel NewsAsia 3 May 08;

MANILA : Senior Philippine officials expressed concern Saturday about a plan for a Southeast Asian rice cartel, saying it would cause greater problems than it would solve in the midst of a global food crisis.

The so-called Organization of Rice Exporting Countries (OREC) was "anti-poor and will only exacerbate hunger and poverty rather than ease it," Senate majority leader Francis Pangilinan said in a statement.

Modelled on the OPEC oil cartel, OREC would comprise Mekong countries and rice producers Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

Pangilinan appealed to them to "think twice for humanitarian reasons".

The proposed OREC members are also members of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, along with the Philippines which is one of the world's biggest rice importers.

Pangilinan called on the Mekong countries to reconsider the cartel plan.

Senator Manuel Roxas, chairman of the trade and commerce committee, called on the Department of Foreign Affairs to formally propose an ASEAN Leaders' Summit on Rice and Food Security in light of the OREC proposal.

Roxas said in a statement that failure by ASEAN members to unite in efforts to build food security would "raise doubts in the minds of other world leaders on ASEAN's determination to pursue economic integration".

He said: "Before OREC is institutionalized, the ASEAN community must weigh in as a regional bloc to obtain trade privileges with its fellow members in keeping with the ASEAN spirit."

World rice prices have soared this year, a trend blamed on higher energy and fertiliser costs, greater global demand, drought, the loss of rice farmland to biofuel plantations, and price speculation.

The benchmark Thai variety was priced last Wednesday at 998 dollars per tonne for export, up from 512 dollars a tonne in January this year, the Thai Rice Exporters Association said in a price survey.

- AFP/ir