ASEAN agrees to maintain rice price stability: minister

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

JAKARTA (AFP) — ASEAN trade ministers agreed Saturday to help each other during the global food crisis and to take measures to maintain the stability of rice prices and boost production.

"(ASEAN) will help each other in stabilising the global (food) price and not take steps that will disrupt the price of rice," Indonesian Trade Minister Marie Elka Pangestu said on Elshinta radio.

"Ensuring the stability of rice (price) is the priority," she said.

Pangestu said the ministers had agreed to continue exports provided domestic needs were being met.

"We will not export if our domestic needs are not enough. Like Thailand, they have announced that they have a surplus in rice production and they will not stop exports," she added.

Pangestu added that...