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By Katrina Mennen A. Valdez, Reporter
THE Philippines is set to buy more rice from the
government of Vietnam to ensure a stable domestic supply of the
staple in the lean season, which starts next month.
In a briefing, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap,
said the government will import rice through the government of
Vietnam in a move to make the commodity affordable to every
Filipino, particularly during the lean season, which runs from July
to September.
“[We] invited quotations of volume to other
countries so that we will be able to sustain releasing rice to the
people aggressively,” Yap said.
Of the eight countries that the Philippines
sought quotations from, only Hanoi responded positively. The other
countries were China, Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan, the US, Pakistan,
and Thailand.
“Though the offer was reasonable and is good
enough for us, we decided to hold the proposal for the next few
days, since we are still hoping that it could still get better,”
Yap said.
He however declined to give details since the
planned importation is still under negotiation.
The agriculture secretary said the additional
procurement would serve as buffer stocks since the Philippines’
10-percent shortfall has already been contracted.
“At present we have 33 days buffer stocks,”
he said.
This month, the National Food Authority (NFA)
released 300, 000 metric tons of rice. “NFA is now in a very
comfortable position in releasing rice for the consumers,” Yap
said.
He said the government expects the price of rice
to go down, since several millers are no longer quoting the P40 to
P50 a kilo range.
“The middle priced rice is apparently
vanishing, and based on my dialogue with the local millers, they are
willing to sell their milled rice for as low as P33, and could be
sold to the market for P35 a kilo,” he said.
Yap said the government will no longer import
rice through the private sector, opting for government to government
transactions.
“[A] government to government deal is being
considered now, since through that there will be no speculation
anymore,” he added.
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