By James Konstantin Galvez
Manila Times/TNS
The Philippines has agreed to pay Vietnam close to $1mn more as the National Food Authority (NFA) scrambles to fill up its buffer rice stock requirement two weeks ahead of the lean season.
During a special meeting on June 17, the interagency NFA Council accepted Vietnam’s revised offer of $416.85 per metric tonne (MT) for 100,000 metric tonnes of rice, the state­run grains agency said in a statement.
The offer was above the $408.14 per MT ceiling set by the Philippine government. Earlier, the NFA Committee on Government­ to ­Government Procurement (CGGP) rejected initial offers from Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, which were way above the reference price for 100,000 MT of well­milled, long grain white rice-25% broken.
Thailand offered $418 per MT, Vietnam offered $417 and Cambodia offered $464. During the second round, Thailand backed out of the bidding, saying that the Philippine government’s reference price was too low. Cambodia offered 50,000 MT at $455.50 per MT, while Vietnam offered 100,000 MT at $416.85 per MT — both offers were beyond the ceiling set by the NFA Council.The situation compelled the CGGP to call on the NFA Council for a decision.
The NFA Council is chaired by Secretary Francis N. Pangilinan of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernisation, with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines, Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry, National Economic Development Authority, NFA and a farmer’s representative as members.