729,000 MT of rice entered the PHL as of end-April, says Agriculture Dept

The Agriculture Department said Tuesday that some 729,000 metric tons (MT) of rice have entered the Philippines as of end-April, the bulk of which came from Vietnam.

In a virtual briefing, DA spokesperson Noel Reyes said 630,000 MT of the total imports came from Vietnam, according to latest data available from the Bureau of Plant Industry.

"'Yung commitment na 1.8 million (MT), tuloy tuloy pa rin. Again the secretary has written his counterparts in Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar -- 'yun pong napirhamahang kontrata, tuloy pong ibibigay nila at meron tayong contingency. Ang PICT mag-i-import ng 300,000 metric tons," he said.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar in April said some 500,000 MT of rice is expected to arrive on top of the 500,000 MT of rice that have already arrived, bringing the total imports to 1.8 million MT.

Dar also last month said Vietnam has reaffirmed its commitment to continuously supply the Philippines' rice requirement amid concerns over food security due to the situation brought about by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

"Our cooperation in the Southeast Asian region, especially with Vietnam, remains intact as we encourage our trading counterparts to refrain from imposing restrictive measures and ensure that existing supply contracts are honored and given priority for delivery," Dar said then. — RSJ, GMA News