BIMP - EAGA states offering cheaper rice imports – MinDA

DAVAO CITY – Neighboring countries have expressed interest in supplying rice to Mindanao to lower the cost of the staple amid the reported shortages in the previous months, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) executive director Romeo Montenegro said on Wednesday.

Montenegro said members states of the Brunei DarussalamIndonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMPEAGA) have reached out to business players and MinDA and offered to supply cheap rice amid the supply and inflation issues in the country.

He said BIMP-EAGA exporters are willing to sell cheaper rice to Mindanao in a bid to counter rising inflation.

“Our neighbors in BIMP-EAGA, upon learning about the rice situation in Philippines and Mindanao months ago have explored ways by which they are able to supply rice but all of these have to be reckoned with the existing national policies we have in terms of rice importation,” Montenegro said.

He said the volume has yet to be threshed out since the rice exporters from these areas have yet to negotiate with National Food Authority (NFA) Council and the Department of Agriculture.

“There’s no specific in terms of volume although what they offer is they can provide alternative source of rice that can be viably priced for Mindanao, considering the proximity,” Montenegro added.

MinDA chair Abul Khayr Alonto said the agency will meet with officials from Sulawesi, Indonesia and the Department of Trade and Industry to discuss possible rice importation arrangements.

The inflation rate in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) accelerated to 9% in September, the highest among five regions in Mindanao and the second highest in the country, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Inflation rate in the Soccsksargen region is at 8.2%, the second highest in Mindanao, followed by Davao Region (7.9%), Zamboanga Peninsula (7.7%), Northern Mindanao (6.9%), and Caraga (6.1%).