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View all search resultsASEAN’s historic Marcos–Hung rice agreement
The year-long staple food agreement signed at the ASEAN Summit marked a major breakthrough for the region in facing the global energy and food crises.
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Vietnam's Prime Minister Le Minh Hung (left) is greeted by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (center) and his wife Liza Araneta Marcos during a welcome ceremony for the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, central Philippines, on May 8, 2026. (AFP/Pool/Ezra Acayan)
T
he year-long staple food agreement signed by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the host of the May 7-8 ASEAN Summit and the newly elected Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung marked a big breakthrough for the region in facing the global energy and food crisis caused by the United States-Israeli war on Iran.
For Hung this was his debut on the international stage after his appointment in April. It was the right moment to show Vietnam’s capacity and readiness to help neighbors in difficult times. Vietnam and Thailand are among the world’s top rice producers and the Philippines is a top importer of rice from Vietnam.
It was a bilateral agreement but it rightly demonstrated evidence that ASEAN is always able to resolve its problems in the “ASEAN Way”. It will be strong working capital for ASEAN ahead of two more international events this year.
The regional grouping will host one the world’s largest and most prestigious security and defense forums at foreign and security ministerial level, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila in July. In November President Marcos will also host the second of the bi-annual summits in Manila. It will be much bigger than the Cebu summit because leaders of major countries such as the US, China, South Korea, Australia and the European Union will also come to attend separate meetings with ASEAN.
Indonesia achieved rice self-sufficiency last year and now President Prabowo Subianto has the capacity to accept rice export requests from ASEAN neighbors. The President has expressed his intention to help needy neighbors too.
Marcos had already declared a national emergency in regard to energy and he did not want to add an emergency in regard to a staple food. Marcos requested guaranteed rice sales from Vietnam amid fluctuating staple food prices on the global market.
The agreement secures a stable supply of rice until April 2027. Vietnam is committed to exporting 1.5 million tonnes of the Dai Thom 8 (DT8) variety of rice to the Philippines. The fixed price is US$450 per tonne.
