WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. and Japanese officials agreed on Friday that quick action was needed to address global hunger and bring stability to the world rice market, the office of the U.S. trade representative said. "Both countries agreed on the need to act expeditiously," USTR spokeswoman Gretchen Hamel said in a statement after the two sides held talks in Washington. Rice prices have nearly tripled over the past year as part of the run-up in commodity prices that has triggered food riots around the world. Japanese officials told the United States they would "favorably consider" the Philippines' request for the release of 200,000 tonnes of imported rice, Hamel said. Japan has long protected its rice farmers from foreign competition, but it is obligated under world trade rules to import a minimum amount each year. To the frustration of the United States and other foreign suppliers, the Japanese government stockpiles the imported rice. Its current stockpile stands at about 1.5 million tonnes, enough to feed 24.5 million Japanese for a year, The Washington Post noted in an editorial earlier this week urging Japan to put those supplies on the world market. Tokyo needs permission from its foreign suppliers to sell any of the imported rice. Hamel said the United States was "supportive" of Japan considering the Philippine's request for 200,000 tonnes. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization forecast on Thursday that rice, a staple for more than half the world's population, would remain in short supply on global markets, and poor countries that rely on food imports could see food bills up 40 percent this year after a similar price hike in 2007. At the same time, Japan -- a major food importer -- has been concerned by actions that several countries have taken to restrict wheat and other food exports. "The United States took this opportunity to urge that the two countries coordinate their diplomatic efforts to persuade other food exporting countries to lift their recent food export restrictions, and to coordinate their food aid efforts around the world," Hamel said. She said the two countries would continue their discussions in the coming weeks. (Editing by Peter Cooney) (will.dunham@reuters.com; +1 202 898 8300; Reuters Messaging: will.dunham.reuters.com@reuters.net))
A calf suffering from malnutrition stands in a field in drought-affected Los Chiles de San Carlos, 300 km (187.5 miles) north of San Jose, May 23, 2008. Hundreds of families have ...
