Marcos to sign rice agreement during Vietnam visit—DA chief
By Raymund Antonio and Raymund Antonio
President Marcos is expected to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Vietnam to ensure the unimpeded supply of rice to the country during his state visit there later this month, Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said on Tuesday, Jan. 16.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (Noel Pabalate/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The official confirmed in a Palace briefing the possibility of the MOA being signed between the Philippines and Vietnam during the Chief Executive’s state visit there at the end of January.
“We were given instruction when we were in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) meeting in Japan by the President to draft, finalize the MOA with Vietnam so that pagdating ng trip (during the trip) this coming end of January, state visit to Vietnam, mapirmahan na (it can be signed) and we have the working draft na, (already) and almost done,” he told reporters.
The Agriculture chief, whose appointment replaced Marcos’ holding of the post in a concurrent capacity last year, also explained the gist of the agreement with Vietnam.
“It basically guarantees us that they will be supplying, supplying us rice, continuously supplying us rice even sa (in) calamity situation,” Laurel said.
“So, that's part of our food safety. So that's good for us.”
The official likewise revealed that “there was no real agreement” with Indonesia with regards to the importation of rice.
In September 2023, Marcos welcomed Vietnam’s offer of a five-year rice supply deal to stabilize the country’s rice supply.
This happened during the bilateral meeting between the President and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the sidelines of the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.
As of May 2023, the Philippines imported some 1.5 million tons of rice, amounting to $772.4 million, from Vietnam.