By NNN-Bernama,
Jakarta : Agriculture ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) will meet in Indonesia later this year to discuss a plan to establish an emergency rice reserve facility to prevent shortages of staple food during any future crisis.
Indonesian Deputy Agriculture Minister Mahendra Siregar was quoted Tuesday by China’s Xinhua news agency as saying that the facility was being planned as countries in the region had faced rising rice prices, with extreme weather trimming supplies and hiking inflationary pressures.
Mahendra said the meeting was expected to be held in the first half of this year and would discuss in depth all aspects, including the supply, financing and the mechanism to help individual countries should price hikes or shortages occur.
“The meeting will not only discuss the supply, but also the mechanism to help individual countries when significant price volatility takes place,” he added. “We want there to be progress (on the proposal) this year,” he said.
The Director-General of International Trade Co-operation of the ministry, Gusmardi Bustami, said the meeting would be a follow-up to discussions held in Cambodia last year.
“Hopefully, under the leadership of the Indonesian agriculture minister, the plan can be materialized,” he said.
Volatile food prices, including rice, has triggered inflation in the Asean region, leading the central banks in the region to impose tighter monetary policies.
The countries have also struggled to manage the huge capital inflows as near zero interest rates in developed countries has seen funds from the West seeking higher returns in emerging markets.