PH, Vietnam agree to boost cooperation in rice production

CNN Philippines

The Philippines and Vietnam agree to boost cooperation in rice production as Manila continues to source the crop from the Southeast Asian country.  Tristan Nodalo has the details.  Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

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00:00 The Philippines remained the biggest importer of rice from Vietnam in the first half of 2023.

00:05 Manila has so far imported 1.6 million tons of rice, followed by China, Indonesia,

00:11 Ghana and Malaysia in the Asia-Pacific region. We shall export rice to the Philippines from now on

00:19 when you need. Now that Vietnam is one of the largest rice exporters in the world,

00:24 their government also acknowledges the contribution of the Philippines in making

00:29 them an agricultural powerhouse. Vietnamese scientists even cooperated with the International

00:34 Rice Research Institute in the Philippines back in 1970 to improve their rice production.

00:40 You have changed a lot of Vietnamese experts in agriculture and now so that they are coming and

00:47 help the country to develop rice, grow rice, and we are very happy that every year we export rice

00:57 to the Philippines, about 2 million tons of rice. In a business matching event between the two

01:03 nations, Vietnam also expressed willingness to share their technology. We shift to the production

01:08 of high quality rice and but in any circumstances we always see the Philippines as an important

01:18 market and a traditional partner of Vietnam. But it's part of its food security strategy,

01:26 Vietnam is also set to limit rice imports in 2030, something that the Philippines is already

01:32 preparing for. Our direction is of course to increase our sufficiency and we're doing this

01:40 with the Masagana program, with our collaboration with the private sector. During the ASEAN meeting

01:45 in Cambodia last year, President Bongbong Marcos said Philippine-Vietnam relations should go beyond

01:50 rice trading. Regional security in the South China Sea is also among the major challenges

01:55 faced by both countries. Between Vietnam and the Philippines, we have the common interests

02:00 in the South China Sea, so we have a cooperation in maritime

02:08 issues to ensure that the South China Sea is the place for free navigation and overflying.

02:22 In May, Manila and Hanoi expressed concerns over China's unilateral actions in the disputed waters.

02:28 They also opposed the nine-dash line claim of China, which was invalidated by the 2016

02:33 Arbitral Award. Tristan Udalo, CNN Philippines.

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