ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve
ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve
The ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) is a regional cooperation established under the APTERR Agreement signed by the Ministers of the Agriculture and Forestry of the ASEAN Plus Three at the 11th Meeting of the ASEAN Minister on Agriculture and Forestry Plus Three (AMAF+3) on 7 October 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The APTERR was officially established itself as a permanent mechanism and also marked the official launch of the APTERR Secretariat office in Bangkok in 2013.
We are keen to strengthen food security, poverty alleviation, and malnourishment eradication among its members without distorting normal trade, while the common goal of the APTERR Parties is the assurance of food security in the ASEAN+3 region.
400 MT
300 MT
3,000 MT
Total :3,700 MT
500 MT
3,000 MT
Total :3,500 MT
322 MT
4,000 MT
Total :4,322 MT
Natural Disasters
WEEKLY UPDATE ON NATURAL DISASTERS
IN ASEAN PLUS THREE
No. 402 
15 – 21 January 2025
Dreadful disasters claimed 16 lives and caused mass evacuation in Indonesia. A landslide triggered by heavy rains in Central Java province of Indonesia on 20 January 2025 killed at least 16 people, and injured 10 people. Meanwhile, about five people went missing. Local volunteers joined cooperated with rescue workers to search for those missing. In addition, Mount Ibu on Halmahera Island has erupted at least a thousand times since 1 January 2025. The latest big eruption occurred on 19 January 2025, spewing a tower cloud of ash 1.5 kilometres into the sky. Officials raised the volcano alert status to the highest level and called for the evacuation of 3,000 people living in six nearby villages. Residents living near Mount Ibu and tourists were advised to avoid a five- to six-kilometre exclusion zone, and to wear face mask in case of falling ash.
Sources: The Jakarta Post. (2025, Jan 20). Mount Ibu erupts more than 1,000 times this month; The Jakarta Post. (2025, Jan 20). Landslide kills 16 in Central Java.
Floods affected many parts of Malaysia. Continuous heavy rains triggered floods in Sabah, Pahang, and Sarawak states of Malaysia. As of 20 January 2025, almost a thousand of people in the three states were affected, and had to evacuate to the relief centres in different areas according to the State Disaster Management Committee Secretariat. Yet, there were no causalities or injuries reported.
Sources: The Star. (2025, Jan 17). Floods: Pahang and Sabah hit in the early morning; The Star. (2025, Jan 20). Floods: More evacuees in Sarawak, situation unchanged in Sabah; The Star. (2025, Jan 20). Sarawak floods: Number of evacuees increase as of 8pm.
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck the Philippines. On 20 January 2025, a 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted Occidental Mindoro province of the Philippines at a depth of 116 kilometres. The intensity IV (moderately strong) was also felt in Lubang Island. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, damage was not expected, but aftershocks were possible from this incident.
Sources: Philippine News Agency. (2025, Jan 20). Magnitude 5.5 quake jolts Occidental Mindoro.
A mild earthquake jolted southwest China. An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 at a depth of 8 kilometres hit Hongyuan county in Sichuan province of southwest China on 20 January 2025. However, there was no report of casualty. Meanwhile, the provincial and county authorities immediately activated emergency services and dispatched teams to carry out rescue operations, disaster assessments, and inspections.
Sources: Xinhua. (2025, Jan 20). No casualties reported after 4.9-magnitude quake jolts China's Sichuan.
Rice Situation
WEEKLY UPDATE ON ASEAN PLUS THREE
RICE SITUATIONS
No. 402
15 – 21 January 2025
Government increased allocation to $150 million, stabilising rice prices. The Royal Government increased the allocation to stabilise rice prices from 30 million USD that was announced last week to 150 million USD on January 20, 2025. Due to the farmers' concern about the drop in rice price, the government wants to ensure the purchase of rice from farmers. Besides, the Prime Minister also called upon the banking and financial institutions to provide lower interest rates of loans for rice millers. Aiming to enhance the capacity of mills to collect paddy rice directly from farmers. Furthermore, this act would contribute to strengthening the domestic rice market.
Source: Khmer Times. (2025, Jan 21). Govt ups allocation to $150 million to stabilise rice prices.
MAFF said OM rice’s price declined due to external factors. The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries declined the claim that the Royal Government failed to promote Cambodia's agriculture sector. In fact, the price drop of the OM rice variety was due to external factors. The MAFF said price drop saw a significant impact only on the OM rice among the dry season rice varieties. Because India has removed the rice export ban, the rice market has become highly competitive. As a result, Cambodia’s rice price dropped.
Source: Khmer Times. (2025, Jan 17). OM rice’s price decline due to external factors, Tina says.
The President visits a modern rice mill built with Republic of Korea’s funding. Party Secretary General and State President visited a modern rice mill built with the Republic of Korea (ROK)’s funding, located in Ban Nakhamnon, Songkhone District, Savannakhet Province, on January 15, 2025. This mill is one of the initiatives implemented under the Savannakhet Province Integrated Irrigated Agriculture and Rural Development Project. In fact, the project is funded by a grant of 46 million USD from the government of the ROK.
Source: Lao News Agency. (2025, Jan 16). President Thongloun Visits Modern Rice Mill Built with R. Korea’s Funding.
No rice shortage due to the declaring food security emergency. The Department of Agriculture (DA) clarified that there is no rice supply shortage amid plans to declare a food security emergency, which aim to solve the shortage in supply and the extraordinary increase in the price of rice. Nonetheless, the country has a lot of supply, so the only goal is to solve the increase in rice prices. Therefore, the government, the DA, and the Department of Trade and Industry took many initiatives to lower the price, including reducing the tax from 35 percent to 15 percent, collaborating on the program in Kadiwa, and considering the classification of rice importation.
Source: Philippine News Agency. (2025, Jan 18). No rice shortage amid plans to declare food security emergency.
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