Rice imports start arriving

Sixteen percent of the contracted volume of rice to be imported from Thailand and Vietnam have started arriving in various ports in the country, the National Food Authority reported yesterday.

Over 75,000 MT of rice have been unloaded in the ports of Subic, Davao, La Union, Tabaco, Zamboanga, Surigao, Cebu, Bacolod, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro and Manila . The said volume is part of the total contracted volume of 460,000 MT.

NFA Administrator and Agriculture Undersecretary Arthur C. Yap said the imports will augment the country’ rice stocks in time for the coming of the lean months.

As of the third week of March, the country’s total rice inventory was recorded at two million metric tons, enough to last for 74 days based on average national rice requirement of 27,000 tons.

NFA’s rice inventory is estimated at 571,700 MT. Aside from the current stocks and the rice imports, rice inventory is expected to increase with the onset of the summer harvests.

"The stocks will be enough to sustain us during the lean months and will also cover the requirement when typhoons start to be experienced," Yap said.

Meanwhile, the administrator assured the presence of rice in NFA-accredited rice outlets nationwide during the long holidays.

The NFA accredited outlets include Tindahan ni Gloria sa Barangay (TGB), Bisagan ni Gloria sa Palengke (BGP), Targeted Rice Distributed Program (TRDP), Coconut Farmers Food Access Program (CFFAP) and Tindahan ni Gloria rolling stores.

NFA rice is sold P16 per kilogram.