The Department of Agriculture and National Food Authority are set to form and deploy a technical team to inspect warehouses in countries from where the government and private rice traders import rice.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the NFA Council approved the measure tightening the monitoring of imported rice to ensure that imported rice is of good quality and free from infestation.
Piñol said the inspection would determine if the warehouses are sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC)-compliant and the rice is safe for human consumption.
“It will be a way of determining quality of rice we buy,” Piñol said Monday at the ASEAN Agricultural Summit 2018 in Metro Manila.
He said the team will reject rice that would not meet government requirements or is infested with insects like weevil. He added the inspection will cover all rice shipments in the country, whether imported by the private sector or the government,
The measures will begin with the country’s next rice importation, he said.
Last month, the NFA Council approved the importation of rice totaling 750,000 metric tons for sale nationwide at lower price to increase market availability of affordable rice.
The discovery of weevil or “bukbok” raised concern over some rice NFA imported this year.
The Trade department, meanwhile, has tapped top retailers SM Supermarket and Robinsons Supermarket to sell 350,000 metric tons of imported rice to provide immediate relief to the tight supply of the staple in the local market.
The proposed importation is a pilot undertaking in price setting that should fix the price of the imported staple at P38 per kilogram, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.
Also on Tuesday, the government said it would allow traders to import an additional 150,000 tons of raw or refined sugar before the year ends to bring down prices.
In June, the government said it would import up to 200,000 tons of sugar to plug a shortage in domestic supply. With PNA