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MANILA : Thailand's prime minister pledged on Thursday to sell rice to Manila at "negotiable" rates, an official said, as he began a visit to the Philippines, which is working to boost its stocks of the grain.
Manila has to fill its production gap of some 2.7 million tonnes of the staple cereal this year to increase its stocks amid soaring prices and tight supplies that has led to food riots in dozens of countries around the world.
Thai premier Samak Sundaravej made the open-ended pledge during talks with his host President Gloria Arroyo, Filipino Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap told reporters after the meeting. Samak did not speak to the press.
"No volumes were discussed. The price was also negotiable" and any sales would be a "government-to-government" transaction, Yap said.
"The prime minister just said that in the event that the Philippines should need rice sales, Thailand would be more than open to supply the Philippines," Yap added.
He said Arroyo thanked Samak for the offer, which Yap said was made "in the spirit of ASEAN unity and brotherhood."
The two countries are founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which also includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam.
Asked if Manila would take up Bangkok's offer, Yap said the Philippines now had "flexibilities" because it has contracted the bulk of the required imports and also because "we have a very strong dry season harvest, stronger than last year."
He said the Arroyo government was "going to evaluate all of these factors, if and when we choose to procure from Thailand and our other suppliers."
The 72 year-old Samak flew into Manila and was given full military honours at Malacanang presidential palace, where the two leaders met before attending an evening banquet.
Among Samak's announced activities for Friday is a morning trip to a Manila market to check food prices.
Protocol officers also hope to have him visit the headquarters of the International Rice Research Institute near Manila.
In a speech in the central island of Negros on Thursday, Arroyo said Samak's visit "will be a good opportunity to thank him for selling us rice very, very early in the day so that now, at least we have enough rice in our silos."
Yap said the two leaders also talked about "possible areas of cooperation" in other areas, including joint tourism activities. - AFP/de
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