LEGAZPI CITY -- Some 8,200 metric tons or 164,000 bags of imported rice from Thailand arrived in Bicol over the weekend, the National Food Authority (NFA) in the region said on Tuesday.
The shipment is awaiting clearance from customs and health authorities for it to be unloaded at the Tabaco City port, Nelsie Alcantara, NFA Bicol spokesperson, told Philippine News Agency (PNA) in an interview.
The shipment loaded at MV Bravo cargo vessel from Thailand arrived Saturday and was still docked at sea some hundred meters away from the port of Tabaco City, Alcantara said.
Alcantara said the rice shipment from Thailand would still undergo the normal quarantine inspections, as well as customs and health procedures.
Alcantara added the new shipment, which is part of the second tranche of the 800,000 bags of imported rice to be shipped to the region, would be unloaded soon after the 174,000 bags of Thailand rice, which underwent fumigation, are unloaded on Wednesday.
Earlier, the cargo shipment of 174,000 bags of imported Thailand rice was quarantined on Aug. 17 after NFA inspectorS discovered that the cargo was infested with rice bugs called “Red rust beetle.”
After undergoing almost 12 days of fumigation and aeration procedure, the cargo was then cleared for unloading starting on Wednesday, Alcantara said.
As for the Thailand rice cargo, Alcantara said that as soon as clearance is secured from customs and quarantine authorities, the shipper of the Thailand rice would be allowed to unload the cargo at the Tabaco Port.
The 164,000 bags of imported Thailand rice will be distributed to the six Bicol provinces, with Camarines Sur getting the biggest rice allocation of 40,000 bags, followed by Albay with 34,000 bags, Sorsogon with 17,000, Camarines Norte with 12,000, and 10,000 each for Catanduanes and Masbate.
Meanwhile, 41,000 bags would be allocated as a regional buffer stock to be used in times of calamities, Alcantara said.
When asked to describe the rice importation procedure, she said the Vietnam importation is a government to government (G2G) deal, while the Thailand importation bidding was a government to private negotiation (G2P).
Under the Thailand importation agreement, the Asia Golden Rice Company LTD of Thailand, a private company, won the bid contract to supply the Philippine government with 164,000 bags of rice.
Alcantara said another shipment of imported rice is expected to arrive to complete the 800,000 bags of imported rice intended to arrive in Bicol by the end of the year. (PNA)
