Asean+3 to revise E. Asian Emergency Rice Reserve rules

Asean+3 to revise E. Asian Emergency Rice Reserve rules

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan and South Korea, or Asean + 3, is set to revise some rules on the East Asian Rice Emergency Reserve to provide countries in the region easier access to the reserve during calamities, a senior Philippine government official said on Monday.

A possible increase in the volume of the reserve, which currently stands at 87,000 metric tons, is also up for discussion by countries in the region, Gregorio Tan, administrator of the National Food Authority, told Dow Jones in Manila.

Beginning on Tuesday, the Philippines will host a two-day project committee meeting of the East Asian Emergency Rice Reserve, or EAERR, Tan said.

"We will try to improve the mechanisms by which countries may access the reserve," he said.

Among the possible revisions is the "repositioning" of the reserve, the bulk of which is located in surplus countries, Tan said.

The EAERR is a regional cooperation among ASEAN's 10 member countries plus China, Japan and South Korea. Asean's members are Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

In October 2002, Asean agriculture ministers approved an expansion of the rice reserve, from 87,000 tons to 1.75 million tons. However, the increase was never implemented, apparently because it was difficult for countries in need of emergency rice stocks to actually get hold of the volume, Tan added.

Established in 1979, the rice reserve was intended to ensure food security and reduce poverty by providing food assistance in disaster areas in the region.

Twenty-five senior government officials from the East Asian region will take part in the two-day meeting. -- Dow Jones