Philippines orders rice imports as typhoon costs mount

The Philippines ordered imports of 250,000 tons of rice on Monday and lawmakers rushed to approve funding for immediate rebuilding of farms and roads badly damaged by two typhoons that killed over 650 people.

The Philippines, the world's biggest rice buyer, would hold a tender two months earlier than normal on October 30 for the shipment of the grain, which it wants delivered between January and April, the National Food Authority said.

The typhoons hit the country's main rice-growing areas in the north of Luzon island, destroying 560,000 tons of yet-to-be harvested paddy, or 8.6 percent of the projected fourth quarter output of 6.5 million tons, the agriculture department said.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the storms had damaged nearly 12 billion pesos ($257 million) worth of crops and fisheries but insisted there was no immediate shortage of rice, the national staple.

"Be assured that for 2009, our food security is intact, it (rice) is in place, it is already in the warehouses of the NFA," Yap said in a TV interview. "For the coming year, we are preparing for the import arrival and schedule."

Officials have previously said the Philippines was looking at importing around 2 million tons of the grain for its 2010 needs following hefty crop losses due to the storms.

That volume is up nearly 13 percent from this year's imports of 1.775 million tons, the bulk of which was supplied by Vietnam via an intergovernment deal.

Officials have said damage to roads and bridges from the storms could reach 4.77 billion pesos.

BUDGET DEBATE

Both chambers of Congress were scheduled on Monday to take up a proposal setting aside 10 billion pesos ($214.5 million) for relief work, and lawmakers said the measure could be approved this week.

Under debate is whether the funds for rehabilitation need a separate budget or a mere re-allocation of the current 2009 budget, and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said the government was prepared for more foreign debt issues to fund possible extra spending this year.

Officials are also considering a possible $1 billion rehabilitation plan for typhoon-hit areas to be funded mostly by foreign aid, Joey Salceda, economic adviser to the president said on Sunday.

Typhoon Ketsana on Sept 26 inundated areas in and around Metro Manila, killed 337 people and forced nearly half a million people from their homes, the national disaster agency has said.

Typhoon Parma, which battered the northern Philippines for over a week, flooded vast areas in the rice-growing provinces of northern Luzon and killed 314 people in landslides and drownings, rescue officials have said.