INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines failed to secure acceptable offers for its planned importation of 500,000 metric tons (MT) of rice, as the tender conducted by the National Food Authority on Wednesday (Aug. 27) yielded bids with prices higher than the approved budget for the contracts (ABC).
The offers made by LG International, Louis Dreyfuss Corp., Vietnam Northern Food Corp. (VinaFood I), and Vietnam Southern Food Corp. (VinaFood II) were all deemed as “non-responsive” as the proposed prices were all higher than the NFA’s ABC of $456.60 per MT.
LG International offered to supply 200,000 MT of rice to be sourced from Thailand at a price ranging from $491.17 per MT to $49.75 per MT, while Louis Dreyfuss had sought to supply only 50,000 MT for $460 per MT.
VinaFood I was willing to supply 100,000 MT from Vietnam for $485-$486 per MT, while VinaFood II had targeted to provide a bigger volume at 400,000 MT, with prices ranging from $484.50 to $487 per MT.
NFA officials present during Wednesday’s bidding declined to officially declare the exercise a failure, as only the NFA Council had the authority to make such a declaration. But given that all the offers were said to be non-responsive, and therefore disqualified, a bidding failure could be declared, officials said.
NFA spokesperson Rex Estoperez, however, stressed the need to import the 500,000 MT as these volumes would help shore up the agency’s buffer stocks, which in turn, would help ensure the stability of rice supply and prices in the country. This was despite the fact that the country would enter the harvest season starting September, during which the NFA would engage in local procurement.
Estoperez further assured the public that the NFA has been maintaining adequate rice stock inventory of 60 days in Metro Manila alone, as of Wednesday.
The next step, Estoperez added, would be for the agency’s bids and awards committee to report the proceedings to the NFA council, who would then decide on the next strategies to undertake.
The NFA Council will also look into the offered prices and why these are much higher than the ABC. The council will likewise determine if the over P10 billion budget they have set for this bidding exercise is still realistic given the price movements in the global rice market, or if this should already be revised in the next tender.
“The NFA Council needs to go back to the drawing board to check on the problem and determine why the bids were non responsive,” Estoperez further said.
Wednesday’s bidding was for the supply of 25 percent broken long grain well milled white rice harvested within the first half of the year. About 40 percent of the imported rice should be delivered before end September, the second 40 percent in October, and the remaining 20 percent of the total imports must be in the country by November this year.
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