MANILA — A total of 12 rice suppliers from Asian countries attended a pre-bidding conference on Wednesday at the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) auditorium along Visayas Ave. in Quezon City for the government’s rice importation program.
The importation is for 500,000 metric tons of 25-percent broken, long grain white rice, as additional government buffer stock.
The National Food Authority (NFA) conducted the pre-bidding conference to allow prospective bidders to clarify the provisions of the Terms of Reference (TOR) covering the importation.
The opening of bids is set for November 20.
The 500,000 MT is divided into nine lots, with 14 designated discharge ports as follows: Subic — 118,000 MT; Manila — 75,000 MT; La Union — 65,000 MT; Batangas — 40,000 MT; General Santos City — 32,500; Tabaco — 30,000 MT; Cagayan De Oro — 26,700 MT; Cebu — 25,000 MT; Iloilo — 20,000 MT; Tacloban — 20,000 MT; Zamboanga — 17,300 MT; Davao — 12,500 MT; Surigao — 10,000 MT; and Bacolod — 8,000 MT.
The first half or 250,000 MT should be delivered not later than Dec. 31, while the remaining 250,000 MT should arrive in the country not later than Jan. 31, 2019.
The NFA Council has approved the importation of an additional 500,000 MT on top of the previous two batches of 250,000 MT rice imports delivered between June and October, and the 250,000 MT offered for bids last Sept. 18, where only three suppliers won the award for 47,000 MT.
Another bidding for the remaining 203,000 MT will be scheduled, as the second bidding conducted on Tuesday under a government to government scheme failed to attract offers from the governments of Vietnam and Thailand, the only countries with a Memorandum of Agreement for Rice Trade with the Philippines.
The series of rice importations by the NFA is intended to continuously replenish the NFA’s buffer stocks, in line with the President’s directive for the government to have sufficient food stocks at all times. (PR/PNA)
