MANILA, June 28 (Reuters) - The Philippine government has
dropped a plan to import up to 300,000 tonnes of rice from
various governments as its traditional main supplier, Vietnam,
has resumed selling grains, the agriculture department said late
on Saturday.
The Philippines, the world's biggest rice buyer, had planned
to import under a government-to-government scheme to ensure
sufficient supply during its lean harvest season in the third
quarter. State agency Philippine International Trading Corp (PITC)
had issued a tender to import 25% broken, well-milled long grain
white rice, with bids from India, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar
opened on June 8. Based on the ranking of qualified bids, Myanmar was on top
with an offer of $489.25 a tonne for a volume of 33,000 tonnes
and $494.25 a tonne for a separate volume of 42,000 tonnes.
Vietnam's Vinafood 1 would have also won a supply contract
for 30,000 tonnes at $497.30 a tonne.
Other bids were rejected, including those from India and
Thailand.
In a statement, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the
rice import plan had been dropped as it was "no longer necessary
under the current situation".
Vietnam resumed its rice exports from May after a brief
suspension to assess its local supply during the COVID-19
pandemic. The Philippines imports around 7% to 14% of its rice
requirements, with 90% coming from its Southeast Asia neighbour.
Potential tightness in domestic supply "has been properly
addressed with the lifting of the rice export ban by Vietnam and
the rice import arrivals of around 1.3 million metric tonnes as
of the third week of June," Dar said.
He expressed optimism that the country's remaining import
requirement can be secured within the remaining six months of
the year by the private sector.