NFA sets tender for 400,000-MT rice

The National Food Authority (NFA) said yesterday it set March 12 as the new date for a postponed tender to buy 400,000 tons of rice.

Assistant administrator Jessup Navarro told a news conference the NFA would invite government and private suppliers to participate.

The Philippines, one of Asia’s largest rice importers, said on Monday it had postponed a tender scheduled for Feb. 11.

Navarro said the postponement was due to a new transparency law requiring state-owned companies to publish details of their purchases so they can solicit competitive bidding. The arrival period for the rice will be for April, May and June, the NFA said.

Navarro said the government will invite China, Thailand and Vietnam to participate in the bidding.

The government prefers to buy from these nearby countries which are some of the country’s traditional rice suppliers. Compared with other major suppliers like India and Pakistan which will take more than two weeks to transport the commodity, China, Vietnam and Thailand can bring the stock in just seven days.

Navarro said the NFA will be inviting government suppliers as well as private rice traders.

"What is critical here is the quality, speed and efficiency in the delivery of the commodity," said NFA Administrator Arthur Yap.

Yap said Malacañang approved the importation following a decision by the National Security Council to bring the stock by April. The procurement of rice from both domestic and imported sources is part of contingency plans for the possible war in the Middle East.

Navarro added that India, which last year supplied the country with 645,000 MT of rice, could still be considered a possible supplier.

The NFA Council is still claiming $2.5 million from last year’s supplier from India, the state-owned PEC India Ltd. and SGS India, the appointed surveyor for the importation, for expenses incurred in the "reconditioning" of rice brought into the country last year.

Navarro said that the government does not want to immediately ban India as a supplier because it sells lower than other rice exporters. Indian rice purchased by NFA in 2002, was $14-15 per MT cheaper than rice stocks from other trading suppliers which resulted in savings of about P450 million to be government, he added.

"There was a portion of the shipment that was substandard, but that one was an isolated incident," Navarro said.