NFA-NegOcc programs rice distribution until August

BACOLOD CITY — The National Food Authority (NFA) in Negros Occidental has programmed its rice distribution efforts until this August as part of its remaining mandate following the liberalization of the rice industry.

Frisco Canoy, provincial manager of NFA-Negros Occidental, said starting Tuesday, Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Import and Export Libelization Law took effect, thereby removing the agency’s regulatory functions over international and domestic trading of rice.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed RA 11203 on February 14, which lifted import restrictions on rice to make the price of the staple commodity more affordable.

Canoy said the NFA-Negros Occidental will now concentrate on its buffer stocking for calamities and emergencies role.

The National Food Authority provincial office in Negros Occidental located in Bacolod City.
*PNA Bacolod file photo*

This is still part of ensuring the food security mandate of the NFA and the same guidelines on palay procurement with the current support price of PHP20.70 per kilogram will be implemented, he added.

“We have programmed the distribution until August this year. We are on ‘wait and see’ status in terms of distribution,” Canoy said.

As of Tuesday, the NFA-Negros Occidental still has a buffer stock inventory of 195,000 bags. These stocks are part of the province’s recent import allocation from Myanmar and Vietnam.

If there is no new instructions from the NFA central office, they will continue to distribute the remaining stocks to the market, Canoy said.

Government rice with a buying price of PHP25 per kilogram at the NFA is being sold by accredited retailers at PHP27 per kilogram.

With the rice tariffication taking effect, the NFA can no longer import rice for distribution to local traders and retailers.

The initial implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Rice Import and Export Libelization Law was presented during the consultation with the Visayas stakeholders in Iloilo City on March 1.

“The law is not yet fully implemented. There are still additional provisions, or maybe amendments, that will be included in the final version of the IRR,” Canoy said.

Under the law, provincial offices like the NFA-Negros Occidental can no longer act on licensing and registration of persons and entities engaged in the grains business, and collection of regulatory fees.

Other functions stripped from the agency included the issuance of negotiable warehouse receipts, warehouse inspection, authority to seize hoarded stocks and enforce rules and regulations in the grains business. (PNA)

Transfer of NFA-NegOcc office to Bago City approved: DA chief

BACOLOD CITY — The transfer of the National Food Authority (NFA)-Negros Occidental provincial office here to Bago City has been approved by the NFA Council (NFAC).

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said in his Facebook post on Wednesday that the approval took place during the last meeting of the NFAC held in Malacañang.

The NFA’s new office and buying station will rise on a property beside the provincial government-owned rice processing complex, a facility supported by the Department of Agriculture (DA), located in Barangay Tabunan. The proposed site is about two hectares.

The present site of the National Food Authority-Negros Occidental provincial office
on Gatuslao Street, Bacolod City.
*PNA Bacolod file photo*

Piñol said Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. himself formally requested the relocation of the NFA provincial office to Bago City from its current location on Gatuslao Street in Bacolod City.

He added that the provincial government has allocated PHP50 million for the construction of the NFA office building and grains silos.

“The transfer will be done as soon as the new office building is completed,” the DA chief added.

During his visit to Negros Occidental last October, Piñol inspected the proposed area in Barangay Tabunan, together with Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino and NFA-Negros Occidental provincial manager Frisco Canoy.

“I found the place very good. If the NFA Council would approve it, and I think they would, the provincial government has agreed to construct a building for the NFA in the area,” Piñol said in a press conference with Marañon during that visit.

“From my perspective, I am asking why we should maintain a warehouse and office for a grains agency in the middle of the city. We should be where the rice fields are, where the rice farmers are,” he added.

For his part, Marañon earlier said he has been pushing for the transfer of the NFA provincial office for the grains agency to have more space.

He noted that the road beside the NFA building is part of the land sold by the provincial government to property giant Ayala Land Inc., which has ongoing developments in the area. (PNA)

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1061764

79K bags of NFA rice from Vietnam unloaded in Bacolod City

BACOLOD CITY — The National Food Authority (NFA) in Negros Occidental awaits the completion of the unloading of 79,000 bags of rice from Vietnam, which is the third and last import allocation for the province for 2018.

Frisco Canoy, provincial manager of NFA-Negros Occidental, said as of Sunday, a total of 58,461 bags were already unloaded and stored in warehouses in the province.

The 79,000 bags shipped via MV Han Binh 16 and arrived at the Bredco Port here last December 30.

National Food Authority Grains Operations Officer III Roem Precioso (right) inspects the bags of imported rice from Vietnam unloaded at the Bredco port in Bacolod City.
*Photo courtesy of NFA-Negros Occidental*

Canoy said the vessel started discharging the stocks only on January 19 and on January 27, a total of 14,321 bags have been unloaded.

“If the good weather continues, the unloading of the remaining 20,539 bags will be completed in two days,” he added.

The previous stocks came from Myanmar and Thailand, which delivered the final shipment last November.

Records showed that of the 160,000 bags of rice from Myanmar shipped via MV Tan Binh 79, only 159,739 bags were considered good stocks and fully unloaded on January 19.

The NFA does not accept “bad order” stocks from the supplier thus, unloading activity is suspended during rains as the rice may be damaged if wet.

Canoy said that in terms of distribution, the NFA-Negros Occidental is implementing a “first in, first out” scheme.

They have yet to complete the distribution of all stocks from Myanmar before those from Vietnam could reach the market, he pointed out.

He added that with the present volume of available government rice in Negros Occidental, the weekly allocation for retailers has returned to normal.

During the last two quarters of 2018 when the buffer stocks were limited, the allocation was based on the availability of stocks and the level of need of an area.

For major markets in Bacolod City, the NFA-Negros Occidental is currently distributing 140 bags per week.

Those in markets outside Bacolod are receiving a weekly allocation of 80 bags while those outside markets, like stores in the barangay level, are getting 60 bags every week.

Some 113 “Tagpuan” centers in Negros Occidental with a weekly allocation of 50 bags were also reactivated. (PNA)

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1060228

NegOcc grains retailers urged to renew license, accreditation

BACOLOD CITY — Grains traders and rice retailers in Negros Occidental were urged to renew their license and accreditation with the National Food Authority (NFA) to avoid penalties.

Frisco Canoy, NFA-Negros Occidental manager, said Friday the renewal of license and accreditation is an annual activity of the agency.

“Grains businessmen cannot operate without the license while retailers cannot receive rice allocations without the accreditation,” he added.

Senior Grains Operations Officer Cynthia Luz Chua (right) discusses the license renewal requirements with a rice retailer at the National Food Authority-Negros Occidental Office in Bacolod City.
*File photo courtesy of NFA-Negros Occidental*

Canoy said the NFA has set the renewal period from January to June this year.

Traders and retailers from each city and municipality have been assigned a particular month to renew their license and accreditation.

This January, all grains businessmen and retailers from cities of Bacolod to Victorias are scheduled for renewal.
Those from Bago City to Hinigaran are slated for February; Sagay City to San Carlos City — March; Isabela, La Carlota City, La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Murcia and Salvador Benedicto — April; Binalbagan to Ilog — May; and Cauayan to Hinoba-an — June.

New applications, meanwhile, may be processed anytime from January to June.

Grains businessmen are those engaged in grains trading. The license issued by the NFA also covers the selling of corn grains, and feeds from rice or corn products.

Records of NFA-Negros Occidental showed that for January, 420 renewal applications are expected.

As of January 21, a total of 165 grains businessmen and retailers have already processed their renewals while 16 have filed for new applications.

A total of 1,200 applications for renewal are expected to be filed during the first half of the year.

Failure to renew after a month is equivalent to a surcharge of 25 percent of the capitalization.

After two months, it will double to 50 percent, then 75 percent in three months.

The penalty will further increase to 100 percent, if a trader and retailer fails to renew the license and accreditation after four months and above. (PNA)

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1060039

NFA-NegOcc has over 177K bags of rice inventory

BACOLOD CITY — The National Food Authority (NFA) in Negros Occidental has a total inventory of 177,455 bags of imported rice.

Frisco Canoy, provincial manager of NFA-Negros Occidental, said as of Monday, the supply includes the PHP27 per kilogram government rice stocked in NFA warehouses and distributed to local traders and retailers.

The stocks comprise of 159,739 bags from Myanmar, 6,000 bags from Vietnam, and 11,716 bags from Thailand.

Imported rice from Vietnam intended for National Food Authority (NFA) in Negros Occidental being unloaded at the Bredco Port in Bacolod City on January 19.
*Photo courtesy of NFA-Negros Occidental*

“The 6,000 bags from Vietnam actually form part of the 79,000 bags which arrived in the province in the latter part of last month,” Canoy said.

The 11,716 bags are the remaining buffer stock from Thailand which arrived in November last year.

“We can only account as actual inventory those that are already unloaded and received at the warehouses,” the NFA official said.

The unloading of 159,739 bags of rice from Myanmar via MV Tan Binh 79 was completed last January 19.

The shipped stocks totaled 160,000 bags, but some were considered bad order stocks and were rejected.

For commercial rice, the latest inventory totaled 947,600 bags stored by millers, wholesalers, retailers, and households in Negros Occidental.

Canoy said the existing supply of both commercial and government rice in the province is good for 54 days.

Negros Occidental has an average consumption requirement of 20,600 bags per day.

The NFA participation in the entire consumption requirement is only up to 10 percent, and with its current inventory, the imported rice stocks would last for about 86 days, or more than two months.

Canoy said the unloading of the recent importation has been affected by the bad weather. The vessel is covered and it cannot be opened especially when it is raining as stocks might be damaged.

“Based on our contract, the supplier has the responsibility to ensure the quality of the stocks from vessel to pile. We will not accept bad order stocks,” Canoy said. (PNA)

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1059703

NegOcc gets 160,000 bags of imported rice

BACOLOD CITY — The National Food Authority (NFA) in Negros Occidental received an additional 160,000 bags of imported rice from Vietnam before the end of 2018.

Assistant provincial manager Marianita Gellecanao, who led the inspection of the stocks on board the vessel on Tuesday, said the unloading could start anytime today, Friday, following a 24-hour aeration.

Personnel of National Food Authority-Negros Occidental led by assistant provincial manager Marianita Gellecanao during Tuesday’s (January 1, 2019) inspection on board the vessel which delivered the 160,000 bags of rice from Vietnam to the Bredco port in Bacolod City.
*Photo courtesy of NFA-Negros Occidental*

She said the new buffer stocks, the third import allocation for Negros Occidental for 2018, arrived at the Bredco port here on December 29 via MV Tan BINH 79.

“The additional importation was approved by the NFA Council last year, and was supposed to be shipped by November. However, it arrived only in the later part of December,” Gellecanao said.

In 2018, the first import allocation of 80,000 bags arrived in July followed by 100,000 bags in November. Both stocks came from Thailand.

Gellecanao said without disturbance like bad weather, the unloading of the newly-arrived rice stocks may be completed in at least two weeks.

As of Thursday, the buffer stocks left in the NFA warehouses in the province amounted to about 50,000 bags, which are scheduled for distribution among the local retailers.

With the arrival of 160,000 bags, the total inventory of government rice in Negros Occidental is pegged at about 210,000 bags.

Selling price is PHP25 per kilogram for accredited rice retailers. These can be sold in the market at PHP27 per kilogram.

Gellecanao said that based on Negros Occidental’s average daily consumption requirement of 20,600 bags, the buffer stocks may last up to 80 days.

NFA’s participation in the total rice consumption requirement of the province is only 10 percent, she added.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol earlier said the Philippines will have enough rice supply this year.

Piñol, who also sits as the NFA Council chairman, said the NFA has established a stock inventory of 750,000-metric tons of imported rice in preparation for the lean months.

The volume will ensure an eight-month supply of government subsidized rice at 10 percent market participation, he added. (PNA)

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1057990