MANILA has decided to purchase the unawarded 203,000 metric tons (MT) of rice from its previous open tender through a government-to-government (G2G) scheme as the National Food Authority (NFA) seeks to further boost its stockpile.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the NFA Council has approved the measure to ensure that the state-run food agency would have sufficient buffer stock. Piñol chairs the NFAC, the highest policy-making body of the NFA.
“The G2G mode was adopted to make sure that there will be enough rice stocks for NFA even with commercial stocks available. We are expecting two to three more typhoons this year, and we do not want another situation where, in the face of calamities, the NFA will not be able to function,” Piñol told reporters in an interview after the NFAC meeting on Tuesday.
Manila has existing memoranda of understanding with Vietnam and Thailand, which means that they are the only ones that can offer to sell rice to the Philippines via G2G.
The NFAC has scheduled the importation of the additional 500,000 MT of rice via open tender next week. The bidding of the 203,000 MT via G2G will commence just a few days after the open tender, according to Piñol.
The NFA’s rice imports via G2G, together with some volume from the open tender, is slated to arrive before the year ends, while the remaining volume is expected to be delivered by January, according to Piñol.
“I was able to convince the Council that what is important is to bring in the NFA rice as soon as possible to prevent a repeat of what happened in the past,” he said.
Piñol said earlier he wanted the bidding for the remaining 703,000 MT of rice imports by the NFA to be conducted altogether to fast-track the process.
“You will not release all those stocks once they arrive. Those are our reserve stocks. We do not want to have a repeat of last year,” he said. “Besides, President Duterte ordered that it is fine to have oversupply of buffer stock instead of none.”
Piñol expressed optimism that the NFA can secure suppliers for its remaining import volume.
Only 47,000 MT out of the 250,000 MT rice imports of the NFA was approved for supply by foreign traders as the majority of offers during last week’s open tender was above the agency’s price ceiling.
Image credits: PNA