THE National Food Authority (NFA) is eyeing to import another 500,000 metric tons (MT) of rice before the year ends to prevent the depletion of its stockpile and the loss of affordable rice in the domestic market.
NFA Administrator Jason Y. Aquino said they will make the proposal to the NFA Council (NFAC), the agency’s highest policy-making body, next month during its regular meeting. The ideal arrival for the imports would be in the fourth quarter, Aquino added.
“We do not want this situation to happen again. We are planning as soon as possible. We will be proposing that because we do not want the importation to be hindered by rainy season again,” he said in an interview with reporters on Thursday.
“We will submit the proposal sooner. Any mode [of procurement] will do as long as the imports arrive on time,” he added.
Aquino said the proposed importation is a backup plan of the food agency, as the NFAC is lukewarm to its request for permission to raise its buying price for palay from P17 per kilogram to P25 per kilogram.
The NFA has been struggling to beef up its buffer stock through local palay procurement as its current buying price cannot compete with the prices posed by traders.
“The P8 increase seems negative. [NFAC] is saying that it will be inflationary. We proposed up to P25 per kilogram so we will have flexibility to buy at a lower price” depending on prevailing prices in particular areas, he said.
“We opted for the maximum possible price. For budgetary purposes, if we cannot utilize all the funds, then we will just return the excess,” he added.
Even if the October-to-December period is the country’s main harvest season, Aquino remains adamant that the NFA will be able to beef up its buffer stock through local procurement.
“Will that harvest go to the NFA? It will not,” he said. “We still focus on food security. Unless [NFAC] increases our buying prices, we have to resort to importation.”
Aquino said the NFA’s rice importation intended for the fourth quarter would not affect the farm-gate price of palay during the period, as the volume would be kept for buffer-stocking purposes.
“We can just opt not to distribute the imported rice during harvest season. We can do that,” he said. “Besides, we can get the best deals from our foreign suppliers [during those periods]. Price is low plus quality is high, so that’s a win-win for us.”
NFA Grains Marketing Operations Division Director Rocky Valdez said the agency’s 500,000-MT rice import proposal will still undergo scrutiny of the interagency Food Security Committee. The FSC will determine how much the NFA should import, and that volume will subsequently be recommended to the NFAC, depending on the projected shortfall in domestic rice output.
Valdez disclosed that as of July 11 the NFA’s stockpile stood at 1.6 million bags, equivalent to 2.5 days of total national daily rice requirement. This is way below the 30-day buffer-stock requirement for lean seasons mandated by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac).
The NFA said the 500,000-MT rice it is importing via government-to-government and open tender procurement scheme would only be good for 15 days. The NFA gave assurances that its stockpile will last until the end of the year barring major calamities.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes