POSSIBLE HOARDING. Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa lauds the immediate response of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) against possible hoarding of rice consignees in Manila ports during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing on Friday (Sept. 20, 2024). He said the Bureau of Plant Industry will have its inspection team in ports to ensure the quality and safety of the imported rice. (Screengrab)
MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday lauded the prompt action of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) against the possible hoarding of some consignees of imported rice.
“Nagpapasalamat kami sa (We thank the) Philippine Ports Authority, sa pangunguna ni (under the leadership of) General Manager Jay Santiago sa mabilis, agarang pagkilos base doon sa impormasyon na binigay ng Kagawaran ni (for their swift, immediate action based on the information provided by the department of) Secretary (Francisco) Tiu Laurel,” DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing.
Tiu Laurel earlier disclosed that at least 888 shipping vans of imported rice have been staying in ports in Manila for months.
De Mesa noted that these containers have more than 20,000 metric tons, or some 20 million kilograms, of rice.
“Posibleng ano ito ay maging hoarding na tinatawag kasi mayroong mga ilan mayroon nang nine months nandiyan (Possibly, this might be a hoarding because some have been there for nine months),” he said.
“Ang ginagawa kasi daw apparently nitong mga consignee na ito (what these consignees are allegedly doing is) they want to wait para mas mataas ang presyo ng bigas para lalong lumaki iyong kita nila – so, hindi tama iyon (for the increase in rice prices to earn more profits, so, that’s not right) and that may constitute as a hoarding,” De Mesa added.
For its part, the PPA assured that there's no port congestion considering their 70 percent yard utilization.
Then PPA also noted that the dwell time or the period of stay of containers in the container yard is only around 5.4 days, with at least 700 containers already given clearance for release to the rice consignees.
De Mesa, meanwhile, said the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) will have its inspection on the said containers to assess the quality of the imported rice and ensure food safety.
On Thursday, Tiu Laurel requested the PPA to give priority to the release of similar shipments to prevent possible price spikes in the market.
“We respectfully urge the PPA to prioritize the movement of these rice stocks to help increase supply for this essential food staple and potentially lower retail prices,” he said in a statement.
As of Thursday, the prevailing price range of imported well-milled rice in Metro Manila is pegged at PHP45 per kilogram to PHP55/kg; while PHP42/kg to PHP50/kg for imported regular-milled rice.
The local well-milled rice, however, is set at PHP47/kg. to PHP55/kg., and PHP45/kg to PHP51/kg for local regular-milled rice. (PNA)
