Jessup P. Navarro, NFA deputy administrator and bidding and awards committee (BAC) chairman, said NFA has five days to decide on the purchase, indicating all 10 Vietnam bidders led by state trading firm Vietnam Southern Foods Corp. (VSFC) could win the award.
"(We could buy their offer since) they bidded the lowest," he said in an interview.
VSFC offered 250,000 MT of which 35 percent or 88,000 MT each will be delivered not later than June and not later than July while the balance of 74,000 MT will be delivered not later than August. Nine other Vietnam traders offered the same price of $283.99 per MT. The rest of the Vietnam traders are expected to be awarded with the 50,000 MT on a proportionate basis.
Of these shipments, 35 percent will be delivered not later than June, another 35 percent not later than July, and the balance not later than August.
NFA also tendered 100,000 MT of iron-fortified rice. VSFC was the only bidder at $307 per MT for 25 percent brokens, $315 MT for 15 percent brokens and $323 per MT for five percent brokens.
Navarro said the bid for the iron-fortified rice has a 15-day validity since government firm Food Development Center will still evaluate the offer price compared to if government will fortify the rice with iron-fortificant premixes.
While VSFC was the lone bidder for the iron-fortified rice, NFA officials said government is allowed to purchase this according to Republic Act 9184 or government’s procurement laws.
"If there is at least one bidder, government is allowed to buy that," said Armando Ray C. Villacorta, BAC member.
NFA has so far contracted close to one million MT of imported rice in separate batches of 320,000 MT, 80,000 MT, 400,000 MT, 75,000 MT, and 75,000 MT since January this year. The rice import this year is the highest in seven years since the Philippines imported 2.1 million MT in 1998, an El Niño year. The high import volume is attributable to El Niño’s effect bringing drought that hit the rice fields this year. But government is still projecting a high of 15.1 million MT rice production this year, up by 4.1 percent from 2004. (MMA)
