By Madelaine B. Miraflor The country's importation of 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice is facing another delay as the National Food Authority (NFA) declared a failure of bidding on Friday, which came at a crucial time when the Philippines is scrambling to purchase cheaper imported rice. Now, NFA turns to local traders' commitment to continue supplying retail outlets with cheaper rice after Vietnam and Thailand — the only countries with existing rice trade agreement with the Philippines — refused to sell their rice stocks at a loss. With no emergency supply of rice coming from abroad any time soon, NFA Deputy Administrator Judy Carol Dansal said that traders will have to shoulder what the grains agency lacks, a buffer stock of cheap subsidized rice. The NFA, as food security watchdog of government, needs to maintain a rice buffer stock good to last for 15 days at any given time and for 30 days at the onset of the lean months, based on the daily consumption requirement of 32,150 MT or 643,000 bags. In reality, however, it has always been difficult for the NFA to maintain such high level of buffer stocking, with daily disposal pegged only at 64,000 bags. As the state-run grains agency eventually ran out of buffer stocks a few weeks ago, President Rodrigo Duterte then ordered the immediate importation of 250,000 MT of rice. However, the Philippine government rejected twice on Friday the bid offers from Vietnam and Thailand since it was significantly higher than the NFA's set reference price of $483.63 per metric ton for 15 percent brokens and $474.18 per metric ton 25 percent brokens. "We are not ... consumers are happy with the R39 per kilo rice supplied by traders, who have committed to supply rice until the arrival of our buffer stocks," Dansal, who serves as the chairperson for the NFA Committee on Government-to-Government Procurement (CGGP), said in a press conference after a failed government-to-government tender. During the initial bidding, Thailand offered to sell 120,000 MT of rice at 25 percent brokens at $530 per MT. Vietnam, on the other hand, offered to supply Manila with 50,000 MT of rice with 15 percent brokens at $540 per MT and 100,000 MT with 25 percent brokens at $532 per MT. The NFA special bids and awards committee declared a failed bidding since both offers did not meet the reference prices, and asked both Vietnam and Thailand to resubmit offers. The second round of bidding saw the same outcome as two countries, despite it's "close" ties with Manila, refused to lower their bid offers to allign with NFA's asking price. Thailand reoffered $520 per MT for 120,000 MT with 25 percent brokens; while Vietnam offered $530 per MT for 50,000 MT with 15 percent brokens and $521 per MT for 100,000 MT with 25 percent brokens.