Philippines can import extra 500,000 T rice: grains official

The Philippines can import another 500,000 tonnes of rice to boost state reserve stocks, a grains agency official said on Tuesday, as the government sought to mitigate the impact of an El Nino-linked drought on food supply.

Fresh demand from the Philippines, one of the world’s biggest rice buyers, could underpin export prices in neighboring Vietnam and Thailand, traditionally Manila’s main suppliers. President Benigno Aquino has given the state grains procurement agency, National Food Authority (NFA), a “standby authority” to import up to half a million tonnes for this year’s requirements, NFA Administrator Renan Dalisay said.

With Aquino’s approval, the NFA can buy rice under a “government-to-government” deal, Dalisay said. Under such an arrangement, the agency can negotiate deals only with Vietnam, Thailand, or Cambodia. The new allowance would be on top of the 750,000 tonnes bought by the NFA and shipped within the past six months from Vietnam and Thailand. Dalisay said the timing of the additional purchases will still have to be decided by the NFA Council, a government panel composed of the country’s economic managers.

Rice trade in the top Asian producers – Vietnam and Thailand – was slim in recent days as high prices kept buyers at bay. Both countries have also been hit by severe droughts, putting more pressure on their limited supply. “The NFA Council is monitoring the supply and consumption on a month to month basis,” Dalisay said. “We will make sure that whatever we ship in will not arrive during the local harvest.” Crop losses in the Philippines due to El Nino, which since last year has caused droughts in several provinces, have ballooned to 6.5 billion pesos ($141 million), the Department of Agriculture said. Dalisay said the Philippines’ annual rice imports in recent years ranged from 1.5 million tonnes to 1.7 million tonnes. Purchases for this year’s requirement have so far reached 500,000 tonnes.

Source: Reuters