Vietnamese rice unloaded at Subic port

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — A total of 395,000 bags of rice from Vietnam were unloaded here from the bulk carrier MV Morning Star over the weekend, bringing to 1.8 million bags the rice imports that passed through the Subic port since February.

Aside from MV Morrning Star, two other ships were scheduled to dock over the weekend to bring in rice from Vietnam. These were MV Saigon 5, with additional 300,000 bags, and MV Harpoon with 120,000 bags.

Perfecto Pascual, seaport department manager of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, said four other ships have docked here to unload rice imported by the National Food Authority.

These were MV Liberty Eagle, which delivered 881,186 bags of rice from the United States; MV Thai Binh, with 283,000 bags; MV My Hung, with 120,000 bags; and MV My An; with 149,000.

Jaime Juan, NFA provincial manager for Zambales, said the shipment was meant to fill in the expected rice supply gap for the coming lean season of palay production, from June to August or September.

“We will bring these bags of rice to Regions II and III (Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon) for buffer stocking, but part of the shipment will be for distribution in places where NFA sells rice," Juan said.

“There is really no rice supply crisis. If you go to the market, you can see that there is plenty of commercial rice available," Juan said. “But since NFA rice is cheap, it is only natural that people would flock to the NFA stalls," he added.

Juan said that since February, about 1.8 million bags of rice were imported for buffer stocking in Regions II and III. This meant that the imports are reserved rice supply intended for the lean months and for emergencies.

In 2007, the country had a total rice production of 16.24 million metric tons and imported 1.8 MMT, Juan said.

This year, the total rice production is expected to reach 18.5 MMT, but the NFA needs to import at least 2.1 MMT to augment the country’s rice supply, he added.

Juan said the NFA to date has imported 1.2 MMT of rice. The remaining 900,000 MMT to be sourced from other rice-producing countries is still scheduled for bidding, Juan said. - JOHN BAYARONG, GMANews.TV

275,000 bags of rice for CL arrive at Subic Freeport

A vessel carrying 395,000 bags of rice from Vietnam has arrived at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales.

Of the total cargo, 275,000 bags will be shipped to National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses in Central Luzon, according to the agency's regional director Nicolas Crisostomo.

The 395,000 bags of rice arrived at the Subic port last April 8 on board MV Morning Star from Vietnam.

The shipment is part of the total 1,828,186 for the NFA stockpiling for Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley and Cordillera.

Last week, the NFA official said around 2.2 million bags of imported rice will be allocated to Central Luzon this year.

Of this volume, he said, 403,000 bags from Vietnam have already arrived at the Subic port via two vessels and that the balance of 1.8 million bags will arrive in the coming months.

Crisostomo, together with NFA Zambales provincial manager Jaime Juan, inspected rice being unloaded from the MV Morning Star to assure that the quality of the staple remains intact until they reach the NFA warehouses.

The new shipment brings to a total 1,568,186 bags the intended NFA stock of imported rice for Central Luzon. This is on top of the commercial rice stock and those grains that are in households.

As of March 31 last year, the whole region only had 3,003,518 bags of rice that would last for only 46 days. For the same period this year the total rice inventory for Central Luzon is at 4,548,666 bags and could last up to 65 days.

Crisostomo said the rice stock sufficiency in the region belies claims of crisis on the staple.

He explained that while last year's imported rice was only at 1.8 million metric tons, the NFA will be importing 2.1 million metric tons (MT) this year.

In addition, the country is expecting a 17.32 million MT of locally produced rice this year as compared to only 16.24 million MT in 2007 or a 6.6 percent increase in local production.

"How can we call it a crisis when, compared with the same period last year, we have a bigger volume in terms of imported and locally-produced rice?" Crisostomo said.

He said the new rice supply that has arrived in the country will further strengthen the food supply in preparation for the "lean months." (ABL - SunStar)

RP planning $60-M rice imports

RP planning $60-M rice imports under export credit guarantee. Last week 44,000 MT of rice imported under PL-480 arrived at the Subic Bay Free Port.

WASHINGTON – Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap sounded out here on Tuesday the Philippine government’s desire to import some $60-million worth of rice under an export credit guarantee of the US called GSM-102.

Yap raised the possibility of new rice importation in an hour-long bilateral meeting with United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer at the Washington Convention Center.

Yap and Schafer were with other ministers for the 3rd Washington International Renewable Energy Conference here.

In his talks with Schafer, Yap identified rice as a priority commodity that could be bought from the US for the first time under the GSM-102 arrangement. A $60-million rice importation is roughly equivalent to 100,000 metric tons of rice or a three-day supply.

GSM-102 offers competitive credit terms to buyers of US agriculture products, with a three-year repayment period.

“By reducing financial risk to lenders, credit guarantees encourage exports to buyers in countries – mainly developing countries – where credit is necessary to maintain or increase US sales, but where financing may not be available without such guarantees,” a USDA fact sheet on GSM-102 read.

But Yap said the Philippines may also tap GSM-102 for other agriculture importation since there is already an existing credit facility for US rice import called PL-480.

PL-480 is a soft loan program of the US government with a long-term repayment scheme of 30 years.

Two weeks ago, 44,000 MT of rice imported under PL-480 arrived at the Subic Bay Free Port.

No food crisis

Despite the likelihood of bigger rice importation, Yap stressed there is no looming rice crisis contrary to an earlier warning raised by Albay Gov. Joey Salceda.

Yap stressed there is more than enough supply of rice – the Filipino staple food – to meet the country’s 32,000 MT per day consumption requirement.

Like Yap, Salceda is regarded as one of the closest and most influential economic advisers of President Arroyo.

Yap told a press conference at the Philippine embassy here that the loose talk of a “food crisis” has sparked public clamor for the state-run National Food Authority to intervene and flood the market with rice at government-controlled prices.

The NFA is one of the government corporations under the control of the Agriculture Secretary.

“There is no reason for the NFA to intervene and release rice to (lower) the price because there is no supply gap but only a case of price gap,” Yap argued.

“There is no ‘food crisis’ to speak of when we don’t see any shortage of rice. There are even no queues or rationing,” he pointed out.

“So, why should we intervene more and supplant the private sector?” he asked.

“Higher price of well-milled rice sold by the private sector is also good for our rice farmers who get better and higher price for their produce and therefore increase the income of our farm folk,” Yap stressed.

Yap said he would not allow a situation that would reduce the rice stocks of the NFA intended for the calamity season in June-July or during off-planting season when the rice supply is not enough.

But Yap admitted the country is experiencing the impact of the prevailing “tightness” of rice supply in the international market, which is driving up the price of NFA rice.

Yap added that the NFA is quietly negotiating with the government of Vietnam for an additional rice import this year.

While here on official mission, Yap got a call from President Arroyo who instructed him to cut short his trip and immediately return to Manila to personally take charge and look into reports that NFA rice is being sold at P25 per kilo against the authorized P18.25 price.

Yap’s meeting with Schafer, a two-time governor of North Dakota, came a month after the confirmation of the latter’s appointment as USDA Secretary by the US Congress. Yap also met with USDA deputy secretary Chuck Conner in a separate luncheon meeting.

NFA clears rice shipment of GMO

Greenpeace wants rice import quarantined and tested using European Union protocol

SUBIC BAY Freeport: Greenpeace on Thursday warned the government, specifically the National Food Authority (NFA), that the shipment of rice being offloaded at the Naval Supply Depot could be contaminated with genetically modified organisms (GMO), which is illegal in the country.

Daniel Ocampo, Greenpeace campaigner for South East Asia said the current shipment should be quarantined and tested using the European Union protocol before it is distributed to the market.

Ocampo told The Manila Times that the shipment on board MV Liberty Eagle is part of the food for peace program.

The 44,000 metric tons of rice from the US that arrived at the Subic Port has been tested and certified as free of GMOs, National Food Authority administrator Jessup P. Navarro announced on Thursday afternoon.

Navarro said the 44,000 MT US rice that arrived at Subic Port onboard MV Liberty Eagle has been tested and certified as GMO-free by Eurofins Gene Scan through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Navarro cited that Eurofins issued a non-GMO certificate after testing sublots from the US rice onboard MV Liberty Eagle. The tests were performed with three test samples of approximately 1,000 kernels each.

“The test results were also verified by USDA/Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration,” he continued.

“We assure the general public that the government, through the Department of Agriculture and NFA, continues to be vigilant and cautious particularly in the aspect of food safety,” he added.

Navarro further said “the NFA follows strict procedures including tests undertaken by the Bureau of Plant Industry to ensure that we distribute through our accredited retailers and other outlets only rice that is safe for human consumption.”

In the other shipments of imported rice, all necessary tests to certify their safety have been properly undertaken, the NFA reported.

In 2006, Greenpeace revealed the presence of GMO contaminated rice from US in some supermarkets in Manila.

“Rice is the most important food for Filipinos,” explained Ocampo. “Importing rice from the US exposes Filipinos to the inherent risk of GMOs on human health and threatens our staple food with genetics contamination.”

The NFA and US testing procedures require a GMO test sample of 100 grams out of 50,000 tons. That means about one grain out of every 500 million grains is tested. In contrast, the EU requires a minimum of 2.5 kilogram sample for testing, making it easier to detect the presence of GMO grains.

The rice that came on the MV Liberty Eagle is of a long grain variety that is considered to be high-end rice.

“According to our sources some of the shipments have already been bidded out by the NFA and is about to hit the market soon,” continued Ocampo.

Greenpeace urged NFA to stop the distribution of this rice from US unless they can prove that it is free from GMOs. By Anthony Bayarong, Correspondent and Ira Karen Apanay, Reporter Manila Times

NFA urged to hold distribution of rice recently shipped from US

Subic Bay, Philippines - Environmental activist group Greenpeace is urging Philippine authorities to hold the distribution to the public of the rice shipped recently from the US until the grains are proven uncontaminated with genetically modified rice.

Greenpeace on Thursday said that the rice shipment, now being offloaded at a Subic Bay port, might be contaminated with genetically modified grains not yet proven to be safe for human consumption.

"The National Food Authority (NFA) must quarantine this shipment and run stringent tests based on European Union protocols before the rice is distributed to the public," said Daniel M. Ocampo, genetic engineering campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

He said that the US and Philippine genetically modified organism testing procedures are unreliable as they require only a GMO test sample of 100 grams from 50,000 tons - one grain out of every 500 million grains.

In contrast, the EU procedure requires a minimum of 2.5-kilogram sample for testing, making it easier to detect the presence of GMO grains, Ocampo said.

Greenpeace said that from 2007 to 2008, 23 rice shipments from the US, obviously cleared by American authorities, were barred in the EU for GMO contamination.

In 2006, the group also revealed the presence of GMO-contaminated rice (Bayer’s herbicide resistant LL601) from the US in supermarkets in Manila.

According to Ocampo, the finding even prompted the NFA to issue an order requiring imported rice to be free from GMOs. It also stopped the importation of the staple from the US since late 2006.

Ocampo also cited that Purefeeds, the distributor of American GMO-contaminated rice, had to recall the remaining stocks from store shelves and replaced it with rice from Thailand.

Bayer, the developer of GMO rice varieties that contaminated the US rice supply, is facing lawsuits from farmers and US rice traders whose combined losses are estimated to hit US$ 1.2 billion.

“Importing rice from the US exposes Filipinos to the inherent risks of GMOs on human health and threatens our staple food with genetic contamination," Ocampo said. - GMANews.TV