NFA to import 250T metric tons of rice

A worker carries a sack of rice inside a National Food Authority warehouse in Taguig City. REUTERS

MANILA – The National Food Authority plans to buy 250,000 metric tons of rice in a government-to-government deal with Vietnam or Thailand to beef up depleted buffer stock, a spokesman said.

The purchase is on top of the importation of 250,000 metric tons in an open international tender that has already been approved, Rex Estoperez told Reuters.

A frequent rice importer, the Philippines saw domestic prices of the staple grain increase by 3 to 4 percent in late January and rise further in the succeeding weeks as state stockpiles dropped to their lowest in more than two decades.

Higher rice prices added pressure to Philippine inflation, which hit an annual pace of 4.3 percent in March, the fastest in five years.

Rice imports will boost the buffer stock of the NFA, which supplies cheaper rice to the local market and helps stabilize domestic prices.

Asked if the emergency purchase needed NFA Council approval, Estoperez said President Rodrigo Duterte had already authorized NFA administrator Jason Aquino to proceed with the importation.

The council, composed of government economic managers, earlier approved the purchase of 250,000 metric tons via a tender open to international traders and suppliers, for delivery starting May, ahead of the lean domestic harvest season from July.

The council prefers an open tender, which makes pricing transparent and less prone to corruption, over a government-to-government deal. (Enrico dela Cruz, Reuters)

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here