In country’s congested ports!

VESSELS LOADED WITH RICE

GIVEN PRIORITY IN UNLOADING

By Manny Piñol

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez last night directed the Bureau of Customs to give foreign vessels loaded with rice and other food items top priority in berthing and unloading at the Port of Manila.

The Finance Secretary issued the order following a dialogue between the Rice Industry Stakeholders and the Department of Agriculture officials on Friday where the rice importers complained that the congestion at the Port of Manila delayed the unloading of rice imported by the private sector.

As of Friday last week, records showed that of the estimated 700,000-metric tons of rice imported by the private sector, only 4% has been unloaded and delivered to the market.

The rice importers also complained that the “Alert Status” raised by the BOC on rice shipments delayed the release of the rice from the Manila International Container Port.

Last night, Bureau of Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña issued a memorandum to all Port Collectors of the Bureau of Customs directing them to:

1. Initiate action that ships carrying cargoes of rice will be (given) priority in docking;

2. Rice shipment should be attended (to), giving priority to release immediate if (there is) negative derogatory info.

The measure is expected to infuse into the rice market supplies good for 20 days bring to over 60 days the rice stocks available in the country.

The tight rice supply situation is a result of the delayed importation by the National Food Authority (NFA) of the government-subsidized rice sold at P27 to P32 per kilo.

The importation quota under the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) was also delayed and the bidding was conducted only in May of this year.

Imported rice stocks are supposed to arrive in the country during the lean months from July to early September, the time of the year when farmers have just finished harvesting and have either planted or starting to plant.

The delay in the importation resulted in the spike of prices of commercial rice in the market but the situation is expected to ease up starting the end of September when the harvest season starts until early December.

The country has a rice self-sufficiency rate of 93% as of 2017 and about 1-million metric tons of rice have to be imported from Thailand, Vietnam and other rice producing countries to fill up the gap.

The Department of Agriculture has targetted a 95% Rice Self-Sufficiency by the year 2020.

(Photos of a foreign vessel unloading NFA rice in Zamboanga City taken by Diane Faith Garcia.)