The National Food Authority (NFA) said it will auction about 37,000 metric tonnes (MT) of old rice to free up space in warehouses and improve inventory turnover ahead of the upcoming harvest.
According to the bid invitation, NFA said the auction will involve about 737,339 50-kilogram bags of rice or a total of 36,867 metric tons, valued at about P909.8 million.
The pre-auction conference is scheduled for February 13, while the auction tenders will be opened on February 20.
The stock offered for sale is priced between P22.52 per kilogram and P25.16, depending on how long the grain has been stored.
The rice stocks have been in storage between three and 18 months, with 88.1% being between three and nine months old.
NFA Administrator Larry R. “Our milled rice inventory is 2.74 million bags, and about 700,000 bags of it will be auctioned,” Lacson told reporters. “The remaining two million bags are for disposal during disasters, the P20 rice program and other emergency needs.”
NFA reported that as of January 31, its milled rice inventory stood at 8.52 million bags or the equivalent of about 426,000 metric tons, which also includes the share of palay (unmilled rice) yet to be milled.
According to NFA, the national rice stock is equal to 11.03 days of demand. — Von Andrei E. Villamiel