NFA rice auction clears up about 16,000 MT in warehouse space

THE National Food Authority (NFA) said it awarded around 315,000 bags, or nearly 16,000 metric tons (MT), of ageing rice in a public auction on Friday, clearing warehouse space for the procurement of freshly harvested palay (unmilled rice).

According to the NFA, the auction drew 30 prospective bidders for over 618,000 bags of rice. Only 27 bidders eventually participated, and 13 were deemed qualified, with 14 dropped for submitting insufficient bid bonds, faulty documents or offers below minimum volume.

Winning bids fell within the agency’s expected price range of P22.52 to P25.16 per kilo, according to the NFA.

In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr., who chairs the NFA Council, said auctions are critical to freeing up storage and keeping palay prices stable. “We will continue finding ways to dispose of ageing rice to bolster palay prices and farmers’ incomes,” he said.

The tender was the agency’s first successful sale this year after an auction in October failed to attract qualified bids. The failed auction had raised the possibility of a negotiated disposal that would likely have yielded lower prices for the government.

The NFA said it has around 1.2 million bags of older stock, a buildup that has limited its capacity to buy palay at equitable prices during peak harvest months.

According to the NFA, its current mandate is limited to maintaining a buffer stock for emergencies, with any sale requiring public bidding, making it a “challenge” to clear older rice.

Mr. Laurel said pending legislation, such as the proposed Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment Act, which will expand the powers of the NFA, could “change the game.”

“We are hopeful that once these measures pass, the NFA can swiftly dispose of stock and become far more effective in supporting rice farmers and lowering rice prices for consumers,” he said. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel