MELBOURNE — The Philippines is eyeing to import rice from Cambodia to improve its inventory amid the current El Niño phenomenon that may impact local palay production.

During a bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on the sidelines of the 50th ASEAN-Australia Special Summit on Monday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and the Cambodian official agreed to boost the rice trade between both countries.

However, he acknowledged that the Philippines needs to import more rice to improve the inventory of the said commodity, and one area to explore and strengthen is improving its ties with other rice-producing countries like Cambodia.

“Some (Memorandum of Agreements) have lapsed… we need to look back and engage with in terms of trade in agriculture, rice specifically. When I visited you in Cambodia last time, that subject that we were talking about. We were preparing for this drought. It’s now happening,” Marcos told Prime Minister Hun Manet.

“It caught our attention. We really should look into it. Something necessary now. That’s the lesson learned from the pandemic. We have to be flexible in looking to our suppliers,” Marcos said.

Both leaders also talked about enhancing air travel links to make it easier for people to visit the top tourist spots in both countries.

Marcos told Hun that the Philippine government has enlisted a team to upgrade and enhance the efficiency of the Manila airport.

Additionally, he mentioned that the government is working on developing regional airports near tourist attractions to attract more travelers to the Philippines.

“We are also encouraging flights to regional airports. I think that is what we keep hearing: low-hanging fruit. I’m sure Filipinos will be interested. I count myself. I am interested in traveling in Cambodia,” the President said.

“We have done little yet to explore. I fully agree. That’s for two countries, an advantage for us. I’m very much open to that. We will try to see, when I get back, which regional airports are ready to take international tourists and visitors. And I will be glad if we could increase the volume of exchange… tourism, travelers, and even business,” he added.

Hun expressed his interest in further discussions on connectivity and increasing the number of tourists traveling between Cambodia and the Philippines and vice versa.

“We now have flights, five times, (from) Cambodia to NAIA,” Hun said.