The National Food Authority will discuss possible additional imports this year as the agency’s buffer stocks are still insufficient to cover the 30-day requirement during the lean season.
The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council requires the NFA to maintain a rice buffer stock good to last for 15 days at any given time and for 30 days at the onset of the lean months. The country’s daily consumption rate requirement is currently at 32,720 metric tons or 654,600 bags.
The National Food Security Council earlier recommended the immediate importation of 250,000 metric tons of rice to beef up NFA’s buffer stocks for the lean season.
“The NFA management’s position is we are hoping that there will be an increase to 250,000 metric tons. But we will prioritize the 250,000 metric tons first. We will discuss it with the executive committee within the NFA,” said NFA special assistant to the administrator Rachel Miguel.
“We are following the LEDAC policy that the buffer stock is enough for 15 days for the whole year and 30 days for the lean months. If we need to comply with the 15 days and 30 days, then the (stocks) is really not enough,” added Miguel.
The NFA’s buffer stocks are only enough for six days.
Despite the 250,000 metric tons of rice imports earlier approved, the NFA’s buffer stocks is still 17 days short equivalent to 544,000 metric tons.
“We are not saying it (additional imports) is urgent but when it comes to policy, it is really not enough,” said Miguel.
NFA spokesperson Marietta Ablaza earlier said the first tranche of the 250,000 metric tons of rice imports was expected to arrive by the end of next month.
Ablaza, however, said the NFA was still waiting for the NFA Council resolution approval of the terms of reference for the importation.
“We are still waiting for resolution so that we could immediately publish the bidding,” said Ablaza.
This year’s importation will done through a government-to-private scheme to augment the agency’s buffer stock for the coming lean months of July to September.
Instead of limiting the bidders to government counterparts, private suppliers from participating countries may now be allowed to participate in the bidding, making the whole process covered by the Government Procurement Reform Act, unlike the current government-to-government scheme.
Miguel said the TOR for the imports was expected to be finalized within the next few days,
“It has already been drafted. We are just finalizing it because during the last meeting, there are some suggestions so we are incorporating it in the draft. Definitely we will come up with the TOR next week,” said Miguel.