By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat The Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC), the government’s trading arm, said it will start negotiations as soon as possible for a government to government (G2G) importation of 300,000 metric tons of rice. PITC President and CEO Dave Almarinez said his agency is closely coordinating with the Department of Agriculture on the needed rice importation. “Negotiations will start ASAP without any further delay,” said Almarinez when asked as to the time table for the rice importation. PITC will take on the rice importation standby authority approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) based on the recommendation by the Department of Agriculture. The PITC, an agency under the Department of Trade Industry, is still looking at Vietnam as top source of rice although other countries are also being eyed as potential source. Vietnam is the Philippines largest exporter of rice last year followed by Thailand. For this G2G mode of procurement, Almarinez said, the funds for the importation will come from the National Food Authority. This will be the first G2G rice importation since the Rice Tariff Liberalization (RTL law was enacted two years ago allowing a free for all rice importation. Under the standby authority, the IATF is also allowing the DA, including the Department of Finance (DOF) and the DTI, to work with the country’s ASEAN trading partners and “encourage them to refrain from imposing trade-restrictive measures to ensure that existing supply contracts are prioritized.” The decision for G2G rice importation came after Vietnam temporarily suspended the signing of new rice export contracts while it assesses its own rice requirements amid the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar are the Philippines’ top sources for imported rice, with shares of 73 percent, 13 percent, and 8 percent in 2019, respectively. Of the 2.76 million MT of rice the Philippines imported in 2019, 2.15 million MT came from Vietnam. For this year, the Philippines is likely to import as much as 3.3 million MT of rice, based on the latest Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report of the US Department of Agriculture. For the entire year, NFA targets to buy 15.44 million bags, using its regular budget of ₱7 billion. This budget will be further augmented by the ₱31-billion fund allocation provided to the DA's Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat (ALPAS) Kontra sa COVID-19 or Plant, Plant, Plant Program. Under the RTL Law or RA 11203, importation from ASEAN countries is slapped with 35 percent tariff only. Countries outside ASEAN are slapped with way higher tariff at 180 percent, but because of IATF’s order, even the supply coming from countries like India and Pakistan will now be charged with 35 percent tariff only.