Marcos, Cambodia PM discuss rice deal

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on the sidelines of the Asean-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne where they agreed to boost rice trade between the two countries and discussed efforts to tackle double taxation and improve ease of doing business.

During their bilateral meeting, Marcos pointed out the need to revisit agreements between the Philippines and Cambodia, which have already lapsed «in terms of trade in agriculture — rice specifically.»

«When I visited you in Cambodia last time, we talked about that subject. We were preparing for this drought. It's now happening,» he said. «It caught our attention. We really should look into it. Something that is necessary now. That's the lesson learned from the pandemic. We really have to be flexible in looking at our suppliers.»

Marcos noted that he wanted the Philippines to have increased grain production but this would have to wait because his administration would still need to connect with and secure the country's rice inventory from other rice-producing countries, including Cambodia.

He likewise vowed that the Philippine government would address the double taxation issue between the two countries.

«We have gone through this process with other countries before, especially around Asia. And I'm pretty confident that we'll find a good solution,» he said.