AROUND 10,000 metric tons or some 200,000 sacks of rice from Vietnam arrived at the Cebu International Port (CIP) yesterday afternoon.

These are part of the promised 500,000 sacks of imported rice that the National Food Authority (NFA) will distribute in Central Visayas, particularly to National Government agencies, local government units and its official retailers.

Rice retailers expect that the newly arrived rice stocks will have an impact on commercial rice prices in the region.

Olma Marie Bayno, NFA 7 public information officer, told SunStar Cebu that Vina Ship Gold, a cargo vessel from Vietnam, arrived at CIP at 1 p.m. yesterday.

Bayno said once the documentary requirements for the cargo will be completed, they hope that the 200,000 bags of imported rice will be available in the markets within the month.

Those included in the priority list for distribution are the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (NDRRMO) so they can replenish their stocks for calamities.

Local government units are also part of the priority list, Bayno said.

Some of the stocks will also be provided to NFA’s accredited retailers in the region.

With the new stocks of rice, members of the Grain Retailers Confederation of the Philippines (Grecon) see an end to the NFA rice shortage.

Erwin Gok-ong, president of Grecon’s Cebu City north district, told SunStar Cebu that if NFA can supply its accredited retailers with at least 10 bags a week and all of them are sold in the market upon distribution, it could create a big effect and may help stabilize the price of commercial rice in the local market.

NFA rice are sold at P35 per kilo with 15 percent broken grains and P27 per kilo for rice with 25 percent broken grains.

Gok-ong said that since NFA rice stocks started dwindling since last year, the prices of commercial rice have been rising.

Gok-ong said the stability of commercial rice in the region will depend on the availability of NFA rice supplies and the allocation the agency provide to its retailers. (JKV)