The Philippines' National Food Authority (NFA) will seek new bids for import rights for 205,152 tonnes of rice, about one-third of the 600,000 tonne allocation for local traders, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said on Tuesday. At a tender last month, the NFA received bids from private traders for rights to import up to 693,748 tonnes, but the state grain agency had to reject some of the offers because of questionable documents.
"We will publish the bid invitation next week, possibly as early as Monday," Alcala told reporters after a regular meeting of the NFA Council, the government body that approves the country's rice buying plans. A separate tender was held on April 4 for rights to import 60,000 tonnes of rice, the volume allocated for farmers' groups. The NFA Council has approved imports of up to 1.3 million tonnes this year, but said only 860,000 tonnes, including the 200,000 tonnes the NFA bought from Vietnam, is needed for now. The government wants all shipments, which are all duty-free, to arrive before the lean harvest season starts in July.
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