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Welcome Remarks to the Second ASEAN Rice Trade Forum

Mrs. Takako Ito

Minister Counselor of Mission of Japan to ASEAN

Sheraton Mustika Hotel, Yogyakarta, 4 June 2013

His Excellency Mr. Tahlim Sudaryanto, Assistant Minister for International Cooperation, Ministryof Agriculture, Indonesia.Mr. Ngin Chhay, Chairman of ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board.Ms. Lourdes Adriano, Advisor, Practice Leader, Asian Development Bank. Ladiesand Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure and honour to have the opportunity to speak to you today. On behalf of theGovernment of Japan, I extend my heartfelt congratulations on the convening of the Second

ASEAN Rice Trade Forum on the theme ofRice Trade and Self Sufficiency in ASEAN. TheGovernment of Japan wishes the Forum every success as it charts new directions on issues andoptions on rice trade and self-sufficiency in the ASEAN region.

It is a privilege to be part of the ASEAN Rice Trade Forum which marked its pilot activity in Junelast year in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Through the Asian Development Bank, the Japan Fund forPoverty Reduction has provided support for the Forum as part of its technical assistance for theimplementation of the ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework and the Strategic Plan of

Action on Food Security in the ASEAN Region 20092013.

In line with this basic policy framework of the ASEAN, we commend the central purpose of theForum to provide a multistakeholder platform for discussing food security issues and the

importance of enlarging rice trade in the region and even globally.

Given the still predominant role of rice as a main staple in Asia, fostering regional cooperation onrice trade is certainly an imperative, especially in addressing widespread poverty across theregion. The Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction shares this common objective of fighting poverty.

On this occasion, please allow me to introduce you to the current status of Japans rice productionand rice consumption.

Rice has been the primary staple crop for the Japanese people for several thousand years. Sincerice is originally a tropical crop, we, the Japanese people have made ceaseless efforts for stapleproduction of rice, which could produce a large harvest in Japans cooler climate. After the 19th

century, the Government of Japan kept on promoting the development of technologies for ricecultivation, fertilizers and pesticides, agricultural machines, irrigation, plant breeding, and so on.These efforts resulted in maximum annual production, which was about 14 million tons in 1965.

On the other hand, Japan imports a lot of wheat, soybeans and feeds and this has resulted in thelow percentage of the food self-sufficiency ratio of Japan that is only 40%. This figure is lowerthan that of other industrialized countries in the world.

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To cope with this issue, the Government of Japan has been trying to encourage the consumptionof rice. We promote the production of good tasting rice and the utilization of rice as feeds. Wethink that the latter objective will particularly increase food self-sufficiency. We also promote usingrice powder as a substitute for wheat flour. Rice bread and rice pasta are becoming popular nowin Japan. In 2010, a Japanese household appliance manufacturer began to sell an electric breadmaker that can bake bread from out of rice grain. This bread maker has received huge public

attention and over 200,000 bread makers were sold in the first 2 years.

We have also been developing rice-oriented technologies, such as rice breeding, production,distribution and preservation. Japan is willing to share its experiences with other countries in orderto improve food security.

For example, Japan has been cooperating with African countries in providing technical supportthrough Japanese experts for producing NERICANew Rice for Africa.

Japan has also been actively contributing financially and serving as a coordinator, together withThailand, for the Emergency Rice Reserve Pilot Project in the ASEAN since 2004. The ASEANPlus Three Emergency Rice Reserve or APTERR legally entered into force in July 2012. APTERR

is a rice reserve system to ensure rice supplies to areas affected by natural disasters.

In the wake of a typhoon that caused great damage in the Philippines in 2012, the APTERRSecretariat requested Japan to provide urgent support to the victims by way of utilizing APTERRsTier 3. Considering the need for immediate assistance, Japan accepted the APTERR Secretariatsrequest and contributed USD 200,000. This is the very first case of providing support for disastervictims under APTERR since the APTERR Agreement entered into force. Japan will keepcontributing to the strengthening of food security in East Asia.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This January, the Government of Japan commemorated the 40 th year of friendship and

cooperation between ASEAN and Japan. It is our hope that this Forum and its outputs andrecommendations will contribute to alleviating the condition of the poorest and most vulnerablegroups in the region through collective and coherent policy actions on rice trade and food securityand will become another successful example of ASEANJapan cooperation.

We wish you all a most fruitful forum. Thank you very much.