FILE PHOTO: A farmer rests in the background as paddy rice is being loaded onto a truck in Ayutthaya province, Thailand, February 20, 2010. The NFA had been seeking the council's approval to import as much as 250,000 tonnes under government-to-government schemes with Vietnam and Thailand. Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, who chairs the NFA Council, said the shift away from governments would ensure accountability. Mr Evasco recently accused some NFA officials of "making a cash cow out of government-led rice importations". Rice inventories in the Philippines are running low, with government stockpiles shrinking to the least in more than three years in April, just enough to cover 10 days of national requirements.

Source: Bangkok Post May 16, 2017 09:00 UTC