Friday, May 09, 2008 Editorials: Asian rice producers’ plan
JUST like the oil exporting nations’ cartel that was born amid the threat of oil shortages in the ‘70s, a cartel of Asian rice exporters may emerge from the current chaos caused by the threat of world food shortage.
It is a flexing of muscle resulting from a realization that the capability to produce more food than one needs is political power, too.
But circumstances now are different.
With population higher than almost four decades ago, using food as weapon for political bargaining may not be exactly right, especially after nations have gone through an era of working closely together for survival.
It can be deemed a betrayal.
Cartel
Initial report said that at least five nations of the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) want to form the cartel, to be called the Organization of Rice Exporting Countries (Orec).
It is disappointing that these nations are led by Thailand, the nation that, together with the Philippines, organized the forerunner of Asean, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, in the mid-‘50s.
Thailand has, of course, become the world’s top rice producer and exporter while the Philippines has remained an importer.
The four other nations who have become big rice exporters--Vietnam, Burma (Mynamar), Cambodia and Laos—are with Asean.
Left behind
Despite their so-called poverty and relative lack of scientific “know how” compared with the Philippines, they were able to rise in rice production and are now in a position to “extract” their ounce of economic blood from other countries.
Ironic, indeed, that the Philippines should now be looking up to the nations, whose rice production capability it had helped, for the food it needs to feed its growing population.
The poorest of the 1.5 billion Asia-Pacific basin people spend 60 percent of their income on food.
Now, with the top rice producing nations in the Asian region deciding to put a cap on their exports to ensure survival of their own people, the Philippines, as the world’s biggest rice importer, is sadly left out in the cold.
