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The National Food Authority (NFA) has set a 200,000-metric ton
tender of rice to be imported by private companies from any country
willing to export the staple, as the latest tender for rice from the
country’s traditional sources only attracted one bidder.
It was in early April that Malacañang decided
to allow the private sector to import rice.
NFA Assistant Administrator Conrado Ibañez told
reporters that next month, the agency will hold an “omnibus rice
tender” for 200,000 metric tons which can be sourced by private
companies from any country which can export the staple. On Tuesday,
the NFA set a tender for about 144,000 metric tons of rice but only
got a bid for 500 metric tons.
“Under the omnibus rice tender, you don’t
have to declare your source [of rice],” Ibañez said.
The maximum price of the June tender is $1,200
per metric ton, subject to quality stipulated by the grains agency,
like the percentage of broken grains. Likewise, the grains agency
will not accept rice grown using genetically modified organisms or
GMOs.
Ibañez did not say where private importers may
source their rice, but indicated that Vietnam, Cambodia and China
are possible sources. Other known rice exporting countries are
India, Pakistan and the US.
Even with the apparently failed tender held
Tuesday, the grains agency believes the country will not experience
a shortage in the staple, because the high price of rice caused by a
world supply crunch has made it attractive for more Filipino farmers
to plant the staple.
“We are not in a hurry to get [rice] stocks,
because we have enough stocks,” Ibañez said
Likewise, private importers are also waiting for
the price of rice in the world market to soften. Ibañez sees
international rice prices “softening,” but not to a point where
it will drop dramatically.
-- Conrad M. Cariño
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