Arroyo: Philippines Has Enough Rice

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MANILA — The Philippines has enough rice for the foreseeable future, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Tuesday as officials vowed to crack down on hoarders amid skyrocketing food prices and tight grain supplies.

Arroyo said the global rise in the price of fuel and rice has strained the pockets of Filipinos, but the country is now in a better fiscal position to deal with any contingencies and has the flexibility to keep the situation under control.

"Supply is secure for the foreseeable future," she told her Cabinet.

She said an action plan to prevent rice shortages includes securing rice imports, proper distribution and cracking down on hoarders and price manipulators.

The Philippines is one of the world's largest rice importers and has been buying the staple grain from its Asian neighbors and the United States to beef up reserves.

Farmers' groups have warned that rice prices could rise a further 40 percent in the coming months and trigger protests.

But officials have dismissed such fears, with Arroyo saying the National Food Authority, the state-run grains trading company, has already contracted from abroad 1.3 million tons, around half of which has already arrived in the country.

About 90 million Filipinos consume some 13.12 million tons of rice annually, most grown domestically. But dwindling domestic production and corruption in the rice supply chain have created a recurrent shortfall of about 10 percent.

Arroyo also said the government will continue buying paddy rice from local farmers at higher prices. She said she instructed provincial governors to store rice in places likes gymnasiums.

She said she will "personally lead" a campaign against unscrupulous rice traders and millers who are hoarding stocks to take advantage of rising prices.

"I am leading the charge to crack down on any form of corruption by public or private persons who would divert supply of this essential commodity in any way," she said.

Justice Departments officials said they issued 10 subpoenas Tuesday to the owners of six warehouses that were found hoarding rice and gave them 10 days to comment. If charged and convicted, they could face life in prison.

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