Asia-Pacific

Brunei calls for mechanism to ensure food security

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-25 17:12

KUALA LUMPUR: Discussions on the mechanism for a joint regional rice reserve are underway in Brunei as the Project Steering Committee of the East Asia Emergency Rice Reserve met in the Sultanate.

The Brunei Times, a Brunei daily, reported on Thursday that partners establishing the rice reserve would enable member countries to assist a nation struck by disasters affecting its own food supply.

The daily quoted Permanent Secretary at Brunei's Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources Suriyah Umar as saying that the four-year pilot project was due for completion at the end of February.

It was hoped that the participants of the meeting would be working on the preparatory stage of the ASEAN Plus Three (China, South Korea, Japan) Emergency Rice Resreve (APTERR).

Suriyah said that while there might be several issues that need to be resolved, a more comprehensive APTERR mechanism might be developed after an agreed mechanism had been implemented at the early stage.

On the pilot project, Suriyah said that the involved parties had learnt the complexity of the food security policy and rice distribution systems of ASEAN member countries.

There was need to respect the policy sensitivity of the respective states to attain a consensus of an ASEAN Plus Three mechanism, added Suriyah.

Meanwhile, Suriyah pointed out that the net import supply of rice in Brunei was kept at a safety stock level of six months.