The Department of Agriculture (DA) is proposing to amend rules for the allocation of permits and accreditation of traders who want to import rice via the minimum access
volume (MAV) scheme of the World Trade Organization.
Agriculture Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said she is more partial to auctioning off rice imported via MAV, which is currently pegged at 805,200 metric tons (MT). Puyat noted that buying imported via an open tender is “more transparent.”
Puyat, who represents Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol at the National Food Authority Council, said she also plans to replace the current NFA-MAV committee, which screens rice importers, with an ineragency committee.
“There are those who are saying that the NFA has sole discretion when it comes to giving import permits. I said why not do it via open auction?” she told reporters in an interview.
“And that’s not the only problem. Who is prequalifying the accredited importers? It is just the NFA, so what I want is to put in place a committee that would also include the Neda [National Economic and Development Authority], BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas], and DOF [Department of Finance],” she added.
Puyat said the NFAC is set to discuss the proposed measures in a meeting on May 11. The NFAC is the highest policymaking body of the NFA, now an attached agency of the DA.
Once the measures are finally agreed upon, the NFAC will pass a resolution implementing and applying the changes for the remaining import volume under the MAV, which are expected to arrive starting June until August.
“We are doing this so that there will be no collusion. I am not saying that the NFA is corrupt, but what we want is for the public to have trust [in the process],” Puyat said.
She also said the open auction may be held at the Bureau of Treasury and not at the NFA office or at the DA. Puyat said this would help dispel notions that the allocation of imports is being rigged.
Puyat noted that holding an open tender for rice under the MAV scheme is nothing new as it has been done by previous NFA chiefs, such as Angelito Banayo.
“Personally, I do not want to have discretion in the issuance of permits. Not me and not the NFA. So, that if there is no discretion involved, the playing field is leveled,” she added.
Puyat also said she is not keen on increasing the NFA’s rice imports, as the volume purchased via the government-to-government mode and an open tender is “more than enough.”
“The good thing about importing via MAV is that the tariffs collected go to the Acef [Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund], which is allocated to the agriculture sector,” she said.
Inventory
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the country’s total rice inventory as of April 1 recovered from a six-month skid and rose by nearly 29 percent to 2.182 million metric tons (MMT).
However, the PSA said the latest rice stockpile is 18.42 percent below the 2.675 MMT recorded a year ago. The PSA told the BusinessMirror that the Philippines’s total rice inventory as of April 1 is good for 64 days. This is now the highest inventory recorded by the country in three months. Of the total rice stocks in April, about 63.04 percent were from the households, 36.39 percent were held by commercial warehouses and 0.56 percent was in NFA depositories, according to the PSA.
The total volume of rice held by households during the period reached 1.376 MMT, while those in commercial warehouses amounted to 794,380 MT.
The NFA’s rice stockpile as of April 1 plunged to 12,240 MT, the lowest in 38 years. The bulk of the state-run grains agency’s buffer stock, or 79.69 percent, were comprised of imported rice.
“Comparisons with last year’s rice stock levels showed a decrease of 4.50 percent in the households, 12.45 percent in commercial warehouses and 96.26 percent in NFA depositories,” the PSA said in its monthly report, titled “Rice and Corn Stocks Inventory,” published on Thursday.
“Relative to last month’s record, both stocks inventory level in households and in commercial warehouses grew by 25.04 percent and 43.56 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, a drop in stocks level was observed in NFA depositories by 71.89 percent,” the PSA added. The government periodically monitors rice inventory to determine whether it would need to import the staple to boost local stocks.