BACOLOD CITY — The National Food Authority (NFA) has confirmed the arrival of 80,000 bags of imported rice from Thailand at the Bredco port in this city.
NFA-Negros Occidental provincial manager Frisco Canoy said as of Monday night, the vessel was already near the port and was expected to dock on Tuesday.
The initial schedule of arrival was on Sunday, but due to bad weather, it was moved to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Canoy said, adding that with at least 12 hours of aeration period, unloading could start on Wednesday.
Last week, NFA-Negros Occidental received 2,000 bags out of the 10,000 bags it borrowed from Iloilo.
“Once the imported stocks arrive in Negros Occidental, the stocks from Iloilo that have been distributed to warehouses in the cities of Bacolod and San Carlos, and Ilog town will be replenished,” he said.
He added that once the unloading and documentation are completed, the NFA rice supply will be distributed to accredited retailers.
By then, there will be more stocks of the PHP27-per-kg. NFA rice in the local markets, Canoy said.
The arrival of the rice allocation for Negros Occidental was tentatively set on June 10, but was delayed mainly due to loading problems brought about by bad weather.
The 80,000 bags allocated for Iloilo province arrived last month.
Canoy said Negros Occidental may expect another import allocation of 80,000 bags this year, subject to approval of the NFA head office. (Erwin Nicavera/PNA)
