NEWSFLASH

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RP IMPORTING RICE FOR RESERVES

Manila, Dec. 9, 1997 - The National Food Authority is preparing to import additional 25,000 metric tons of rice to beef up the country's national rice reserves, in preparation for the expected harvest decline caused by the El Nino phenomenon.

NFA deputy administrator Gregorio Tan Jr. said Thailand and Laos are the possible suppliers which will be coursed through state trading and should enter the country by the first semester of 1998.

A separate batch of 25,000 tons will be imported from four other Asian countries which had earlier agreed to supply 325,000 tons for the year. The imports, which were all government-to- government deals, will arrive in the Philippines in several batches from January to May.

The supplying countries are: Vietnam, China, Malaysia and India.

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