By Madelaine B. Miraflor
The government already awarded in full the auction of 100,000 metric tons (MT) importation of rice for the Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi (ZamBaSulTa) area under the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) scheme for crop year 2017 to 2018.
NFA logo (Photo courtesy of wikipedia)
The rice import, which will arrive starting October until November, is seen to boost the supply of rice in the area and complement NFA’s ongoing rice distribution.
The auction was conducted by LANDBANK together with the National Food Authority (NFA) Council, the highest policy making body of the NFA. It was held at the LANDBANK head office in Malate, Manila.
The auction committee was chaired by the Bureau of the Treasury, with members from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
Under the amended guidelines issued by the NFA Council, Zamboanga City port has been designated as the sole discharge port for the total imported volume.
The NFA further announced that only non-winning bidders in the previous auction held last June 25 will be allowed to participate in the importation.
Rice traders are allowed to source from countries with a specific quota or from other rice- producing countries (omnibus origin).
The rice importation is limited to local importers composed of corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, joint ventures or farmers’ organizations.
Of the total volume, 80 percent or 80,000 MT were allocated to farmer-organizations while the remaining 20,000 MT were allocated to non-farmers-organizations. Eligible bidders may avail of a minimum allocation of 5,000 MT and a maximum of 10,000 MT.
Winning bidders of the auction shall be issued with Certificate of Eligibility to Import Rice (COEIR) until September 25.
All shipments will be subject to a 35 percent tariff which should be paid in advance through LANDBANK.