The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodia's prime minister sought Monday to allay fears that the planned creation of a cartel of rice-exporting countries in Asia could hurt countries who must buy the grain.
Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej raised the possibility of such a grouping during a visit last week from his counterpart from Myanmar, another rice-exporting nation. Thailand is the world's biggest rice exporter.
Such a grouping "is not intended to put a stranglehold on countries facing rice shortages," but will help make regional and global food security more stable in the future, Prime Minister Hun Sen said.
His comment came in response to concerns that some senators in the Philippines — the world's largest rice importer — expressed last week about the possibility of Thailand forming a cartel with Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Government officials in Cambodia and Thailand have hopes that such a grouping would give the five nations more control over international rice prices. Commodities experts, however, suggest that such a goal would be difficult to reach because production cannot be so easily controlled.
The Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, which also includes Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Hun Sen said Cambodia has about 2 million tons of rice for export, compared to Thailand's 9.5 million tons and Vietnam's 6 million tons. But he added that his country still has enough arable land to increase its rice production in the future.
He said that, unlike the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the purpose of a rice cartel would be "to contribute to ensuring food stability not just in individual countries but also to address food shortages in the region and the world."
"We shall not hoard (rice) and raise prices when there are shortages," he said in a speech at a university graduation ceremony. "I think our friends in ASEAN should not be worried about creation of this association."
He also claimed for the idea of the cartel, saying he was the one who raised it in a 2005 meeting in Bangkok of the leaders of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.
In Manila, Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan on Monday expressed opposition to the creation of a rice cartel and appealed to those proposing the move to "think twice for humanitarian reasons."
"The rice cartel will be anti-poor, and its global implications will be tremendous. If the Philippines doesn't assert itself now as an ASEAN member and as a rice producing economy, we will soon be at the mercy of this proposed Organization of Rice Exporting Countries (OREC)!" he said.
Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej raised the possibility of such a grouping during a visit last week from his counterpart from Myanmar, another rice-exporting nation. Thailand is the world's biggest rice exporter.
Such a grouping "is not intended to put a stranglehold on countries facing rice shortages," but will help make regional and global food security more stable in the future, Prime Minister Hun Sen said.
His comment came in response to concerns that some senators in the Philippines — the world's largest rice importer — expressed last week about the possibility of Thailand forming a cartel with Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Government officials in Cambodia and Thailand have hopes that such a grouping would give the five nations more control over international rice prices. Commodities experts, however, suggest that such a goal would be difficult to reach because production cannot be so easily controlled.
The Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, which also includes Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Hun Sen said Cambodia has about 2 million tons of rice for export, compared to Thailand's 9.5 million tons and Vietnam's 6 million tons. But he added that his country still has enough arable land to increase its rice production in the future.
He said that, unlike the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the purpose of a rice cartel would be "to contribute to ensuring food stability not just in individual countries but also to address food shortages in the region and the world."
"We shall not hoard (rice) and raise prices when there are shortages," he said in a speech at a university graduation ceremony. "I think our friends in ASEAN should not be worried about creation of this association."
He also claimed for the idea of the cartel, saying he was the one who raised it in a 2005 meeting in Bangkok of the leaders of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.
In Manila, Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan on Monday expressed opposition to the creation of a rice cartel and appealed to those proposing the move to "think twice for humanitarian reasons."
"The rice cartel will be anti-poor, and its global implications will be tremendous. If the Philippines doesn't assert itself now as an ASEAN member and as a rice producing economy, we will soon be at the mercy of this proposed Organization of Rice Exporting Countries (OREC)!" he said.
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