"We will award within five days. We still have to meet with the BAC (bids and awards committee)," said National Food Authority (NFA) Deputy Administrator Jessup P. Navarro.
Delivery period for the importation will be between January to March.
Offering the lowest price was Vietnam private firm Ang Giang Import Export Corp. which was $274.40 per MT (C&F) for "best offer" countertrade (50 percent of total value of shipment) or $276.40 per MT for mandatory countertrade, 40,000 MT.
This was followed by VSFC, $274.45 per MT for best offer and $276.45 per MT for mandatory countertrade, 220,000 MT.
Private firms Kiengiang Agro-forestry Products Co. and Dong Thap Commerce Import Export Co. both offered the same price for 40,000 MT each at $274.49 per MT for best effort or $276.49 per MT for mandatory countertrade. Vietnam firm Vinh Phat Trading and international trader Toepfer International will likely share pro-rata the total remaining volume of 25,000 MT.
Vinh Phat offered to sell 15,000 MT while Toepfer offered 50,000 MT, both for $274.55 per MT for best offer and $276.55 per MT for mandatory countertrade.
As Vietnam is expected to dominate the supply, Toepfer may turn out to be the only company to bring in rice outside Vietnam as it may source the commodity from Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan.
The first of an anticipated string of rice import biddings for 2006, the tender was attended by 12 bidders with three Thai companies. But all of them offered a higher price than Vietnam rice—Thai Maparn ($277.47 per MT for best offer), President Agri ($277.31 per MT), and LG International ($281.95 per MT).
The prices, in general, are higher than the last purchase price of NFA of 25 percent brokens at $269.90 per MT, although this was of lower quality.
"What we’re buying now is well-milled rice because that’s what consumers want. Before, we were only buying regular-milled rice," Navarro said.
With a slower growth in rice production this year foreseen at 14.75 million MT, down from the original target of 15.1 million MT for 2005, government may hit more or less a similar rice import volume for 2006 as that for 2005 which was at 1.8 million MT.
At least 25 percent of the volume will arrive in January 2006, 50 percent in February 2006, and the balance in March 2006.
A separate 138,000 MT has been set for importation by the first quarter of 2006 under the Farmers as Importers program.
