140,000 sacks of Vietnam rice arrives in Albay to augment NFA stock

LEGAZPI CITY – As many as 140,000 sacks of imported rice from Vietnam will arrive late afternoon Wednesday at the Tabaco Port in Tabaco City on board Vietnamese cargo vessel MV Panh Ba, the National Food Authority (NFA) in Bicol said.

Customs and NFA authorities said the vessel would dock and unload the rice cargo shipment after import documents were submitted and customs and quarantine inspection have been conducted, according to Beth Jacob, NFA Bicol spokesperson.

The rice shipment is the first of the three batches of the 500,000 sacks of rice bought from Vietnam. The other two shipments will arrive before the year ends.

The sacks of rice, once unloaded this afternoon, would be brought to NFA warehouses in six Bicol provinces to augment the low rice stock.

The province of Camarines Sur has the biggest allocation with 40,000 bags, followed by Albay with 31,000 bags, Sorsogon with 25,000, Camarines Norte with 20,000, and 12,000 each for Catanduanes and Masbate.

Jacob said NFA stocks inventory indicate that there are only 42,219 bags of rice available in NFA warehouses which is not enough to last more than a day.