MANILA – The National Food Authority (NFA) Council has approved the additional importation of 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice to beef up the current NFA stocks.
Following a meeting on Sept. 4, the policy-setting body has instructed the NFA to immediately hold an open bidding for the importation of the additional rice stocks to arrive in November.
The Council noted that the additional importation would increase NFA rice in the market by 20 percent.
In May, the government ordered a supply of 250,000 MT of rice to increase the stock in the country – 130,000 MT from Vietnam, and the remaining balance of 120,000 MT from Thailand.
It also announced an additional importation of 250,000 MT which would be done by private companies.
On Tuesday, the NFA announced that it would import an additional 133,500 MT of rice for Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi (Zambasulta) in order to boost the remaining supply stock in the area.
Agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol previously claimed that Zambasulta was the only area in the country experiencing rice shortage. (GMA News)
