THE GOVERNMENT will decide its rice import plans for 2011 on Dec. 6 and private traders are likely to be given increased tariff-free import allowances, the head of the National Food Authority (NFA) said.
Angelito T. Banayo, administrator of state-run grain agency, said the private sector accounted for 10% of the record 2.45 million tons of rice Manila imported for 2010, with the NFA buying more than two million tons.
The Philippines is the world’s biggest importer of rice, and the government wants to raise output and become self-sufficient in the national staple by the end of 2013.
"Given our financial difficulties, we prefer that the private sector import more than what [the government] will buy," Mr. Banayo told Reuters by phone yesterday.
Mr. Banayo has said the NFA, which is tasked to keep retail prices of the commodity stable despite rising demand and falling domestic output, had debts of more than P100 billion.
A council chaired by Agriculture Secretary Proceso L. Alcala and including Mr. Banayo, the Finance Secretary and the central bank governor, would set the volume of imports and the private sector share, he said. The NFA decides when to launch international tenders or negotiate with exporters.
Mr. Alcala said last week the Philippines’ rice output was expected to grow in the final quarter of 2010 and increase next year, allowing the country to more than halve its imports for 2011 from 2010’s record levels.
"It’s a rough estimate," Mr. Banayo said, referring to the agriculture department’s projected import volume. -- Reuters
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