More than a hundred rice traders have applied for permits to import the staple under the minimum access volume (MAV) scheme based on the latest list of applicants released by the National Food Authority (NFA).
As of October 7, 124 farmers’ organizations and private firms are seeking permits to import 862,900 metric tons (MT) of rice, 60,400 MT more than the country’s MAV of 802,500 MT, according to the list posted by the NFA on its web site.
NFA Spokesman Angel Imperial said, when importation requests exceed the allowable volume under the MAV scheme, a prorating will be conducted to make the allocation “equitable” to all applicants.
The rice traders are looking to import 374,575 MT and 336,900 MT from Thailand and Vietnam, respectively. These figures exceed the allowable volume under the MAV scheme for both countries, which is 293,100 MT. Some rice traders and organizations also want to source 151,425 MT of rice from Pakistan.
Under the importation guidelines released by the NFA, rice traders are allowed to source from countries with specific quota and from omnibus origin with an overall total volume of 802,500 MT under the MAV scheme.
The rice traders and organizations can import 50,000 MT of rice from China, India and Pakistan. They can also import from Australia (15,000 MT) and El Salvador (4,000 MT), according to the NFA guidelines. An additional volume of 50,000 MT is allowed to be imported from any country.
The applicants are only allowed to import 20,000 MT per organization or firm, according to the NFA.
A MAV prequalification team will conduct the validation and authentication of all the requirements submitted by the applicants, according to the NFA guidelines.
The team will also verify if any of the applicants is a party to any case or investigation for rice smuggling, hoarding, unauthorized rebagging or resacking of government stocks to commercial sacks, diversion and cornering activities.
The NFA would only accept applicants for importation under the MAV scheme until October 23, Imperial said. Rice imports within the MAV are slapped with 35-percent tariff, while those outside the MAV are slapped 40 percent.
An official of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) earlier told the BusinessMirror that the Philippines is planning to impose a tariff of as much as 50 percent on rice imports by next year, when Manila is expected to scrap the quantitative restriction (QR) on the staple.
Neda would recommend to the President a tariff ranging from 40 percent to 50 percent once the country converts the rice-import quota into tariffs. The Philippines imports more than 1 million metric tons of rice annually to plug the shortfall in its production and beef up the NFA’s buffer stock.
The extension given to the Philippines on the use of the QR is set to expire in 2017, unless Manila bids for another reprieve and is granted by the World Trade Organization.