Philippines orders rice imports

PHILIPPINE; The Philippines ordered imports of 250,000 tonnes of rice on Monday as officials said two typhoons over the past 15 days had badly damaged farmlands and roads in the north and killed over 650 people.

The National Food Authority said it would hold a tender on Oct 30 for the rice shipment, which it wanted delivered between January and April.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said on radio that the storms had caused damage of 11 billion pesos ($237 million) to crops and farmland but insisted there was no immediate shortage of rice, the national staple.

“We don’t have a rice supply problem,” he said.

Officials have previously said the Philippines, the world’s biggest rice buyer, was looking at importing around 2 million tonnes of the grain for its 2010 needs following hefty crop losses due to the storms.

Manila, Monday, Reuters