THE National Food Authority (NFA) said it will penalize suppliers that fail to deliver rice imports on time.

“Rice import suppliers who will not meet the delivery deadline will be meted out with corresponding penalties based on the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the importation,” the NFA said in a statement on Friday.

The Terms of Reference for the open tender rice importation this year states that “penalty on shipments beyond the arrival period will be imposed as per GAFTA (Grain and Feed Trade Association) 122’s schedule of penalty.”

The GAFTA is an international trade association headquartered in London consisting of traders, brokers, superintendents, analysts, fumigators, arbitrators and other professionals in the international grain trade.

Suppliers of the 250,000 metric tons (MT) government rice imports are in the process bringing in their contracted volumes, with 82.16% or 205,400 MT already delivered and the remaining 15.44% or 44,600 MT either in transit or already within Philippine shores.

Amid the delay, the state-run grains agency assured of sufficient rice stocks to supply the needs of relief-giving agencies and local government units should typhoons strike.

“[A]dequate stocks of NFA rice have already been prepositioned in calamity-prone areas of the country even before the onset of the lean months from July to September,” the statement said.

The rice import contracts require suppliers to handle all costs of delivery until the stocks reach NFA designated warehouses across the country.

For this year, the government ordered 250,000 MT to be supplied by six bidders, mostly from Vietnam, to beef up the country’s rice supply during the lean months which run from July to September. – J.C. Lim

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