Philippines no longer biggest rice importer

THE Philippines is no longer the world’s biggest importer of rice as the government lower its importation targets to less than a million metric tons (MT) this year.

In an interview, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said that the country may import just enough rice ensure a 30-day buffer at National Food Authority (NFA), adding that it would be significantly lower than 1 million MT.

“The rice harvest this season is better, as we produced better crops,” Alcala said in Filipino, adding that the rice imports this year would be lower than 1 million metric tons.

“We are no longer the biggest rice importer,” the Agriculture chief added.

Alcala made the pronouncement despite earlier recommendation by the government panel that the country should import one million to 1.5 million MT of rice to meet its requirements this year.

Meanwhile, the official said that the NFA Council would complete its 2011 import figures in two weeks, adding that it may start import order this quarter.

Alcala also noted that the import volume could reach as low as 500,000 MT to about 1.3 million MT for this year.

“If there are less weather-induced disturbances in the country, our rice imports would not reach the 1.3-million MT import ceiling,” Alcala added.

As of end-January, the Philippines recorded 3.393 million MT of rice inventory, which consists of 1.7 million MT in government warehouses, 1.13 million MT in households, and 563,000 MT in commercial establishments.

With such stockpile in place, Alcala said that the government sees no urgency to import the commodity.

But the official said that it is also important for the Philippines to place import orders early to avoid the price surge because of strong demand for the commodity—particularly in Indonesia and Bangladesh, which recently bought large volumes of rice.

“We will soon announce the first rice tender for the year, with NFA officials meeting this week on the specifics of volume and timing,” Alcala said.

Earlier, the Philippines has awarded Thailand with the bulk of rice import volume—about 98,000 MT—under the country specific quota.

The country-specific import quota is the Philippines’ commitment to the World Trade Organization in exchange for the extension of the quantitative restriction on rice.

The country also assigned 25,000 MT to China, 25,000 MT to India, and 15,000 MT to Australia, for a total allocation of 163,000 MT.

Each Philippine importer is limited to 5,000 MT, with each shipment subject to a 40-percent tariff. -JAMES KONSTANTIN GALVEZ, Manila Times

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