Published January 9, 2021, 6:00 AM The latest move of Vietnam – the Philippines’ top source for cheaper, imported rice – to import rice too may push rice prices higher on the local front, sources said. Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Ariel Cayanan said the unprecedented decision of Vietnam, one of the world’s top rice exporters, to import rice from India will “not only have implication in the Philippines but also the entire world market”. (MB file, Mark BAlmores) “90 percent of our imported rice comes from Vietnam [so definitely] the price [of the staple] will increase,” Cayanan said in a virtual press briefing. “Aside from the Philippines, a lot of other countries also buy from Vietnam,” he added.