Smuggled Vietnam rice auctioned in Cebu

CEBU CITY—The Bureau of Customs has auctioned off more than 160,000 sacks of smuggled rice from Vietnam for over P211 million.

The items were part of the rice shipment seized by the bureau in March and April.

Fifteen of the 25 rice traders who were present during the auction proceedings won in the bidding. From a total floor price of P207,667,200, the total winning bid reached P211,748,288.

Of the 32 lots up for bidding, Veramar Rice Mill and Trading bought two lots, RMJR Grain Center bought another two and Intercontinental got two others. The rest of the lots were divided among the 12 other winning bidders.

Those that were bid out were 162,240 sacks of rice inside 312 container vans kept inside the Cebu International Port container yard.

This was the second auction for the P1.2 billion worth of rice shipment that was seized by customs personnel between March 22 and April 22. The first auction was held on June 6.

The third bidding, which will involve 271 containers of smuggled rice, will be held on Aug. 22. Carine Asutilla, Inquirer Visayas