Manila to import rice

Manila to import rice

MANILA (AP): President Joseph Estrada has authorized a government agency to import up to 300,000 metric tons of rice because of damage to rice crops from four recent typhoons, officials said Wednesday.

The National Food Authority sought Estrada's permission to import rice after 734,750 tons of rice worth 1.7 billion pesos (US$42.5 million) was destroyed by the typhoons, mostly on the main Philippine island of Luzon.

Presidential spokesman Jerry Barican said an inter-agency committee will assess in about a week the amount of rice that will be imported under the authorization.

The committee will examine how much rice harvests from the southern Philippine region of Mindanao can offset the crops destroyed by the typhoons, Barican said.