NFA awards right to supply 250,000-metric tons rice

MANILA, Philippines - The National Food Authority (NFA) has awarded to Vietnam Southern Food Corp. (Vinafood) and Daewoo International Corp. the right to supply a total of 250,000 metric tons of rice to the Philippines.

Vinafood won the right to supply a total of 150,000 metric tons of 25 percent brokens white rice at $480 per metric tons with the shipment scheduled to arrive January next year.

The rice will be sourced from Vietnam.

Daewoo International will supply the balance of 100,000 MT at $ 468.50/MT. 

Source of rice will be Vietnam and Thailand. Twenty percent of the total volume is scheduled to arrive in January next year, 25 percent by February, another 25 percent by March and the balance by April.

NFA Administrator Jessup P. Navarro said the agency is importing rice to improve the agency’s rice stock position at the beginning of the year.

“We have to take a proactive stance  and place an early importation to maintain the supply and price stability of the basic staple,” Navarro said.

He said the early importation was forced upon them by the successive typhoons that hit the country in the last two months.

The rice imports will serve as the government’s additional food security buffer to maintain a very safe inventory level, particularly in the traditionally deficit and high consumption areas.

Bidding for the rice importation was held Nov. 4, and was participated in by a total of 14 international rice suppliers.