PH to import 500,000 MT of rice this year

The country’s state-run grains agency will now proceed with the importation of rice to augment the supply of subsidized rice in the market after earlier being delayed by its policy-making body.

The NFA Council, an 18-member body that consists of representatives from financial institutions and other related agencies, has the power to approve or reject proposals coming from the NFA management.

NFA Administrator Jason Aquino has ordered the importation of 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice under the government-to-government (G2G) scheme. While the G2G scheme is believed to be more prone to corruption and less transparent since it does not require the disclosure of the bidding’s base price, its procurement process is considered the fastest.

The agency will purchase rice from the governments of Vietnam and Thailand where the country has an existing memorandum of understanding (MOU). The initial shipments are expected to arrive by the end of May through the ports in Cebu, Davao and Manila.

Another 250,000 MT will be purchased by the NFA in the latter part of the year through the government-to-private (G2P) scheme. This is in preparation for the lean months.

The NFA Council originally planned to import rice through the open tender scheme, wherein the government would transact with the private sector, but this was sidelined since its lengthy process for procurement was seen to delay the arrival of rice to June or July.

During a meeting with industry stakeholders on Thursday, President Duterte asked retailers, wholesalers, and traders to provide a consistent supply of an affordable rice variant until the arrival of the imported rice.

This is to alleviate the plight of poor Filipino consumers who rely on NFA rice that was being sold at P27 a kilogram (kg).

James Magbanua, national president of the Grains Retailers Confederation of the Philippines (Grecon), said stakeholders came to an agreement to provide regular-milled rice to the market at P39 a kg. At present, prices of regular-milled rice are now at P42 a kg.

“This is an initiative of the private sector,” said Magbanua. “That price range will not change until the arrival of the rice imports, or even when prices of well-milled rice and premium rice continue to rise.”

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said in a radio interview that consumers could expect cheaper commercial rice in the market by next week.

Private groups have committed to giving at least 700,000 bags of rice to the government to replenish NFA’s stocks.

Piñol explained that the increase in the prices of rice was brought by the increase in the farm-gate prices of unmilled rice (palay).

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that farm-gate prices of palay were now at P21 to P23 a kg. The rule of thumb for setting the retail price of rice was “double the farm-gate price,” which would translate to prices at P46 to P50 a kg.

Industry group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura chair Rosendo So said the private sector’s move was already “overdue,” adding that “consumers must also benefit from the industry’s value chain.”

“If the private sector has the capacity to lower their retail prices, why did they have to wait for the President’s order?” he said.

“In a period of relatively stable supply, rice prices were abnormally high in recent weeks—so it is only normal that prices be reduced,” he added.