VFA encourages local food traders to participate in Philippine rice tender of 500,000 tons

Farmers in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang gather rice in the field. The Philippines will continue importing 500,000 tons of 25% broken rice under government-to-private contracts - PHOTO: TRUNG CHANH

CAN THO – Nguyen Trung Kien, vice chairman and general secretary of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), has issued Document 421/CV/HHLTVN announcing the Philippines’ tender to import rice to encourage local food traders to participate.

The National Food Authority (NFA) of the Philippines has issued an invitation to a tender, expected to take place on November 20, for importing an additional 500,000 tons of 25% broken rice under government-to-private (G2P) contracts, according to VFA in an announcement to local food traders.

According to the VFA announcement, the Philippines imposes no restrictions on the origin of the rice or the types of enterprises permitted to attend the tender. This means both private and State enterprises are eligible to join the tender, and the deadline for putting their names down to join it is November 20.

The importer will divide the volume of 500,000 tons of 25% broken rice into nine tender packages and will receive the rice at 14 seaports.

The reference price set by the Philippines is US$447.88 per ton, higher than the reference price of US$431.2 per ton for the 250,000 tons of rice requested at a tender held last month. The payment will be made 30 days after the buyer receives the original legal documents.

Rice traders can take part in all nine tender packages, but they must have completed at least one rice export contract in the past five years at an equivalent value to the tender package they have chosen.

Last month, the Philippines opened a tender to import 250,000 tons of 25% broken rice under G2P contracts, but it purchased only 47,000 tons, including 29,000 tons from Vietnam and 18,000 tons from Thailand. The volume was lower than the Philippines’ target as suppliers offered prices higher than the projected price of the Philippines.

It will import 203,000 tons to reach its 250,000-ton target under government-to-government (G2G) contracts.

In May, NFA held a tender to import 250,000 tons of rice under G2P contracts, but Vietnamese traders failed to sell any rice to the Philippines, while Thailand offered better prices and won the tender.

However, Vietnam secured a deal on May 4 to supply 130,000 tons of rice to the Philippines at a bidding session, under G2G contracts.