The government will auction allocations to import 60,000 tons of rice to farmer groups in the next two weeks, Gilberto Lauengco, an official of the National Food Authority’s bidding committee told reporters Friday.
An invitation will be issued early next week and the bidding may be held seven weeks after, he said.
The NFA said it would publish the notice to bid next week as the government rushed to bring in the grains before the lean season started.
“I presume that the notice will come out Monday or Tuesday next week while the tender [for the 60,000 MT] may be conducted possibly a week after or seven days after the publication of the notice,” said Lauengco, vice chairman of the auction committee, at the sidelines of a separate pre-bidding conference at the Sugar Regulatory Administration compound in Quezon City.
The government earlier said it was auctioning allocations to import 600,000 MT of rice to the private sector on March 23. The volume forms the bulk of the total rice imports of 860,000 MT planned by the government for the year.
The government, meanwhile, is exploring a government-to-government arrangement, possibly with Vietnam, for the purchase of 200,000 MT of rice.
The Philippines and Vietnam signed in 2008 a rice supply agreement during the height of a supply crisis. The agreement, which would expire in June 2011, was extended for another year.
An importer, under the bidding guidelines published by the NFA for the 600,000 MT of rice imports, is allowed to purchase from a minimum of 2,500 MT to a maximum of 20,000 MT.
The rice shipments are expected to arrive on or before June 30, 2011, or 60 days after the issuance of the invitation to bid.
As of Thursday, some 52 interested bidders expressed interest to participate in the tender next week.
Traders said prices range from $500 to $550 per MT, depending on the country of origin.
The NFA reiterated that the country was importing less in 2011 due to a likely bumper harvest. The government imported a record 2.45 million MT rice in 2010.
(Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideBusiness.htm?f=2011/march/19/business4.isx&d=2011/march/19)
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