NFA council approves additional importation of rice

The National Food Authority vows to make the prices of rice unaffected despite the effects of the tax reform law to the prices of fuel products. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The policy-making body of the National Food Authority (NFA) has approved the additional importation of rice this year as rice prices continue to spike.

Following a meeting on Tuesday, an official from the NFA said its council has given the go-signal to purchase 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice this year under a government-to-private (G2P) importation.

Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco earlier described G2P as “more competitive, least corrupt and transparent.” Under G2P, private suppliers are allowed to participate in the bidding and would be covered by the procurement law.

This is in contrast to a government-to-government (G2G) procurement where there is no bidding but is considered the fastest way to import rice.

In total, the agency’s rice imports for this year will now reach 750,000 MT. These include the half a million ton of imports approved earlier this year.

NFA spokesperson Rex Estoperez said the only way for the grains agency to affect rice prices is by flooding the market with affordable rice – something that the NFA has failed to do given the delays in its importation schedules and shipments.

The subsidized rice –- priced at P27 a kilo and P32 a kilo depending on the variant –- is considered as the only reprieve of poor Filipino consumers from the current prices of commercial rice, which has now reached an average all-time high of P43 a kilo.

While Senator Cynthia Villar and Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol assured consumers that there is no rice shortage in the country, the presence of NFA rice in the market has been tight since its inventory was depleted earlier this April. /jpv