New Southeast Asia to start emergency rice reserve

JAKARTA — The 10 agricultural ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their counterparts from Japan, China and South Korea have signed an agreement to stockpile rice that can be used during disasters and other contingencies. The ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve accord (APTERR), was signed Friday during a one-day meeting between agriculture and forestry ministers in Jakarta. It is the region's first permanent mechanism for establishing an emergency rice reserve. Initially, the 13 countries will stockpile 787,000 tons of rice for use in the event of sudden instabilities in supply and production caused by natural disasters. According to a statement, the ministers also welcomed "the possibility of expanding coverage of the APTERR other than rice in times of emergency and in supporting countries in a vulnerable position as a result of food price volatility and a surge in food demand." But before branching out, the ministers stressed the need "to learn from experience and progress made in the implementation of the agreement by focusing first on rice." According to the agreement, China will prepare 300,000 tons of rice, Japan 250,000 tons and South Korea 150,000 tons. The 10 ASEAN countries will come up with 87,000 tons. Among ASEAN members, Thailand will be the biggest contributor at 15,000 tons, while Vietnam and Myanmar will each contribute 14,000 tons, and Indonesia and the Philippines 12,000 tons each. "When deemed necessary, Indonesia is ready to contribute twice its earmarked rice quantity," Indonesian Minister of Agriculture Suswono, who uses a single name, told reporters. Malaysia will provide 6,000 tons, Singapore 5,000 tons, and Brunei, Laos and Cambodia 3,000 tons each. The rice will be kept in their respective countries for use as emergency reserves for Southeast Asia. The ministers also committed to establish a $4 million endowment to cover the costs of running and maintaining the emergency rice reserve. China, Japan and South Korea will each pay $1 million into the fund. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam will contribute $107,500 each, while Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will each contribute $83,000. "The contribution is different for several countries due to their financial capacity," said Achmad Suryana, chairman of the committee that organized the meeting. The ministers agreed that rice used for the emergency reserve can come from outside East Asia. "If not, a country such as Singapore that doesn't produce rice and relies on imports would find it difficult to provide rice," Suryana said. In addition to the endowment, China, Japan and South Korea will each pay $75,000 annually to cover the operational costs of the office running the rice program over the first five years, while ASEAN members will each contribute $8,000 a year. Bangkok is considered the leading candidate to host the program's secretariat. ASEAN launched a food security reserve in 1979, but officials said the plan never really got off the ground and member countries have generally turned to each other for help on a bilateral basis during crises. Southeast Asia as a whole has a surplus in food production, with only Singapore and Brunei relying on imports, but a series of natural catastrophes and food price volatility have made ASEAN members more anxious to unite on the issue of food security.