The National Food Authority (NFA) opened Tuesday, May 21, the bidding for the second batch of 250,000 metric tons of imported rice as replenishment to the agency’s buffer stocks. NFA has allotted P6.5 billion for the next importation. The agency is looking for a bidder offering less than this amount. The agency targets to import rice at P26 per kilogram which it will pass on to accredited retailers at P25 per kilogram. Retailers will sell it at P27 per kilogram. This translates to one peso government subsidy on each kilogram of rice that consumers will buy or equivalent to P250 million. Last month, the first importation of 250,000 MT of rice was awarded to Vietnam and Thailand through government-to-government transactions. The said delivery is expected to arrive in the country before the end of May. With the arrival of the second batch of imported rice, the NFA would have one million sacks of rice in its warehouse which will suffice the country’s needs for a period of 15 days.