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The National Food Authority (NFA) is seeking approval from the NFA Council for the terms of reference (TOR) for its planned rice auction.

The TOR obtained by BusinessMirror stipulates that the auction will be open to interested farmers’ organizations, cooperatives, or groups and private individuals or entities engaged in the grains business, including processing, wholesaling, and retailing.  

Interested bidders are required to tender a 10-percent bond of the total price offer, which will be deducted from the overall payment of the winning bidder.

The bond is among the requirements that should be submitted in a sealed envelope before the scheduled receipt and opening of price offers. 

Bidders are also required to purchase non-refundable auction documents, with respective costs based on the total amount of the total transaction value (TTV) on a per lot basis. 

For those whose TTV ranges P500,000 and below, the maximum cost of auction documents or tender forms is P500; more than P500,000 up to P1 million, P1,000; more than P1 million up to P5 million, P5,000.

Those with TTV of more than P5 million up to P10 million, the maximum cost is P10,000 and those with more than P10 million up to P50 million, the cost is P25,000.

“This shall be the maximum amount of fee that the COAC can set for the acquisition of the auction documents or Tender forms,” the TOR read. 

Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced that the NFA will auction off up to 60,000 metric tons (MT) of aging rice stocks this month until October.

Such a move would allow the government to prevent spoilage, free up warehouse space, and support rice supply amid the import ban.

“We’re essentially hitting three birds with one stone: avoiding supply shortfalls, clearing space so NFA can buy more palay from local farmers, and preventing spoilage of aging rice,” the agriculture chief said.

The auction will feature a graduated pricing scheme, with floor prices ranging from P27.96 to P25.01 per kilo, depending on how long the rice has been stored.

If this materialized, the NFA stands to earn P1.5 billion to P1.68 billion for the volume covered in the auction.

As of end-August, the grains agency’s rice buffer stock is at 450,000 MT, enough to meet 12 days of national demand in case of emergencies.

Source : businessmirror