Rice imports hit a snag

The National Food Authority (NFA) has failed to secure a deal with the governments of Vietnam and Thailand to buy affordable rice to replenish its stocks,  citing “overpriced” offers from the two neighboring countries.

The agency’s bidding committee rejected initial offers from Thailand and Vietnam for the importation of 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice since both countries exceeded the government’s price ceiling of $483.63 a MT for 25-percent broken, well-milled long grain white rice and $474.18 for 15-percent broken, well-milled long grain white rice.

Thailand offered to sell 25-percent broken rice to the country for $530 a MT while Vietnam proposed $540 and $532 a  MT for 25-percent broken rice and 15-percent broken rice, respectively.

During the second round of the bidding, Thailand lowered its price offer by a mere $10 to $520 for 120,000 MT of 25-percent broken rice, while Vietnam offered to sell 500,000 MT of 15-percent broken rice for $530 and 100,000 MT of 25-percent broken for $521.

NFA spokesperson Rex Estoperez said the agency has allotted approximately P6.1 billion for the importation.

A rebidding is set to take place next week no later than Friday where the three governments are expected to come into an agreement, according to NFA deputy administrator and bidding committee chair Judy Carol Dansal.

Despite the delay, Dansal said the committee would not change its initial timeline for the arrival of the rice imports, which is expected before the end of June.

The failure of the bidding came at a time when the Philippines is struggling to bring back cheaper subsidized rice in the market. Since the  Inquirer reported the wipeout of the agency’s rice reserves during the first week of April, the NFA rice variant priced at P29 a kg has not been sold in public markets.

To immediately address the lack of affordable rice, the agency has sought the help of private traders and retailers to provide a cheaper variant. Currently, a P39-a-kilo rice is being sold in the markets. This is expected to continue until the arrival of the imported rice.

This is the third time in the history of the agency that it has failed a bidding process. The first two unsuccessful biddings happened in 2014 and 2015 under the administration of Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.

Dansal said the agency was “thinking positive” that the rebidding would be successful, but has not given details whether the NFA was willing to increase its reference price to accommodate Thailand and Vietnam’s offers.

For now, the committee is banking on the Philippines’ good relations with them.