APTERR

Asean Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve 

The ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve is a regional cooperation with the aims to strengthen food security, poverty alleviation, and malnourishment eradication within the region without distorting normal trade in the global market. The common goal of the APTERR Parties is the assurance of food security in the ASEAN Plus the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.


Dates back to the food price crisis in the 2000’s, concerns were raised that high uncertainty and instability of food price would be repeatedly happened. In 2002, the East Asia Emergency Rice Reserve (EAERR) pilot project under the cooperation among the ASEAN Member States and the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, was established with the aim to conduct a mechanism to realise the importance of food security to meet the emergency requirements needed. Though the idea of regional food reserve cooperation was formed in 1979 when the ASEAN Food Reserve Agreement was signed initiating the earmarked rice system of 87,000 metric tons named as the ASEAN Emergency Rice Reserve (AERR), no release or cooperation pact was formed until the establishment of EAERR pilot project.

With the earmarked reserve increased to 787,000 metric tons, EAERR activities was conducted by its Secretariat with the supervision of the EAERR Project Steering Committees residing one representative from each member country. Its Secretariat was hosted by the government of Thailand. During the initial stage of the project, the very same government of Thailand provided in-kind contribution to the project in term of office spaces and personnel. The project was financially supported by the government of Japan. The pilot project saw the total of over 10,000 metric tons of rice implemented in the ASEAN region.

The 12^th Meeting of the ASEAN Plus Three Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (12^th AMAF+3) on 28 October 2012 in Vientiane, Lao PDR had a consensus to host the APTERR Secretariat office in Thailand. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand tasked the Office of Agricultural Economics to provide the office space for the APTERR Secretariat while acting as the coordinating agency between the Host Country and the APTERR Secretariat.

The APTERR was officially established itself as a permanent mechanism on 27 March 2013 as the 1^st Meeting of APTERR Council was held in Bangkok, Thailand. The occasion also marked the official launch of the APTERR Secretariat office in Bangkok. The implementation of the APTERR Secretariat since then has been financially supported by the Operational Cost account contributed by the APTERR Parties.

On 6 August 2016, the National Legislation Assembly of Thailand, enacted the Act on Protection of Operations of the APTERR Secretariat. The enforcement of the Act would ensure the protection of the activities of the APTERR Secretariat under the national law of Thailand.