We, the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea held our Twentieth Meeting virtually on 21 October 2020 under the Chairmanship of H.E. Veng Sakhon, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia.
We exchanged views on the COVID-19 pandemic situation and were deeply concerned about its unprecedented impacts on the lives of people and economies, including the disruption of the food supply chain in the region. We reaffirmed our commitment to ensuring sustainable food sources and the unimpeded flow of food in the region. We recognised the important role of ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR), and the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) in reducing excessive price volatility of food, and agreed to continue our efforts to effectively implement the APTERR and AFSIS to ensure a stable supply of emergency rice reserves, including the provision of timely and accurate market information during and after the pandemic.
