RICE SHORTAGE SPARKS CRISIS HAS INCOME FROM OVERSEAS WORKERS BECOME ACRUTCH FOR THE PHILIPPINES?

摘要

By many measures the Philippines has rarely had it this good. The country's economy expanded by 7.3 percent last year, the fastest rate in 30 years, as fiscal discipline reduced the government deficit and encouraged a surge of private and foreign investment. But the recent surge in rice prices could eat away at those gains, the country's Finance minister acknowledges. "There is a question of whether our growth is sustainable," Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said in a recent interview with Institutional Investor. The government needs to adjust its long-term strategy of relying on remittances from Filipino workers abroad for growth and ramp up agricultural investment at home to feed its people, he adds.