THE initial allocation of 80,000 bags of imported rice from Thailand has arrived in the province, the top official of the National Food Authority (NFA) in Negros Occidental said.
Frisco Canoy, provincial manager of NFA-Negros Occidental, confirmed to SunStar Bacolod last night that the vessel is already at the midstream near the Bredco Port in Bacolod City.
"Dumating na. Naka-standby lang ito malapit sa port. (It has arrived. The vessel just anchored near the port)," Canoy said, adding that the vessel is expected to dock today, July 10.
NFA-Negros Occidental earlier said that the schedule of arrival of the province's first import allocation this year was supposed to be last Sunday, July 8.
However, the expected time of arrival was moved to 5:30 p.m. Monday due to bad weather, Canoy said.
"There will be an aeration period of least 12 hours. So probably, the unloading will start on Wednesday," he added.
Prior to the arrival of the said importation, four trucks carrying 2,000 bags of rice from Iloilo were already transported to Negros Occidental last week.
These stocks form part of the dispersal for the province while waiting for its import allocation.
Canoy earlier said once the importation arrives, Iloilo will be replenished of the same volume of stocks it has dispersed to the province.
Once the unloading and proper documentation are completed, the stocks will then be distributed to accredited retailers, Canoy said.
By that time, there will be more presence of P27 per kilogram of NFA rice in the local markets, he added.
Aside from the initial stocks, the province may receive another import allocation of 80,000 bags this year subject to the approval of the agency's head office.