Southeast Asia to cooperate over food security

By Gde Anugrah Arka
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) - Southeast Asia nations meeting in Bali have agreed to cooperate over the rice market, Malaysia's trade minister said on Saturday, as rocketing prices shock a region where the grain is a core part of most meals.
The issue of food security has hijacked the weekend trade meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the Indonesian resort island.
Malaysian Trade Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told reporters that a statement due to be released on Saturday -- a day earlier than expected -- would include rice.
Asked whether ASEAN members had agreed to cooperate over rice, he said: "Yes, yes," without elaborating.
Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said earlier on Saturday that rice had been a key part of the discussions.
"We are discussing it within the ASEAN context, the rice issue may be the most important one, because rice is the staple for all the members," she told reporters.
"So we have discussed it and that in principle will certainly help each other in the context of the ASEAN spirit," she added.
The group already had a scheme known as the ASEAN emergency rice reserve, which had about 87,000 tonnes of rice committed and was designed to be used for emergency purposes, she added.
The meeting is also discussing efforts to build momentum for long-delayed world trade talks, as well as freeing up trade in ASEAN, a region with a $1 trillion combined economy that aims to conclude a free trade zone by 2015.
Asian rice prices have almost trebled this year and prices on the Chicago Board of Trade have risen more than 80 percent.
But Asian countries face different issues over rice, with the region home to the world's biggest importer, the Philippines, and the world's top exporter, Thailand.
"Prices are going up, but there is no problem with the supply because new crops will come soon, probably in July," said a Thai trade ministry official attending the Bali talks, who declined to be identified.
Thailand, which expects to export more than 9 million tonnes of rice this year, has sought to soothe market concerns as other top rice exporters such as India and Vietnam have spooked major importers by moving to curb exports to ensure domestic supply.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej recently revived talk of an "OPEC-style" rice cartel in Southeast Asia involving producers Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. But analysts have said the idea was unlikely to gain traction.
The ASEAN meeting is also being attended by representatives from Australia, New Zealand, India and the United States.
U.S. President George W. Bush proposed this week $770 million in new U.S. food aid to stave off a global food crisis, pledging Washington would take the lead in combating global hunger.
The World Food Program has described soaring food prices as a "silent tsunami" that threatens to plunge more than 100 million people on every continent into poverty.
(Additional reporting by Kevin Yao; Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Bill Tarrant)