THE private sector is pushing for the establishment of a “clear-cut” and “coherent” policy on rice hoarding to make it more attractive for companies to import rice into the Philippines.

Herculano Joji Co, chairman of the Philippine Confederation of Grains Association (Philcongrains), said the main concern of the private sector is the possibility that they may be charged of hoarding if their inventories go up significantly because of importation.

“Currently, there are no clear-cut guidelines as to when a licensed trader can be charged of hoarding. The government should establish a baseline volume which will indicate that a trader is really hoarding,” said Co at the sidelines of Kapihan sa Manila Hotel held in Manila on Monday.

“The National Food Authority is encouraging the private sector to import as much as they can, but the lack of a clear-cut definition of hoarding tends to discourage us from participating in the importation of rice,” he said.

Co said the government should coordinate its efforts and make sure that government agencies tasked to apprehend and prosecute suspected hoarders, such as the National Bureau of Investigation and the Justice department, would understand well the intricacies and nuances of rice trading.

“Rice trading is not that simple. They must understand that rice trading is seasonal, and there are times when we really beef up our inventory,” he said.

The government is currently stepping up its drive against rice traders suspected of hoarding in its bid to make sure that rice stocks will not be in short supply in the domestic market. This is because some unscrupulous traders tend to hold on to their stocks, causing a constriction in supply and a consequent increase in prices.

Rice traders and retailers, however, have expressed fears that the crackdown could harm legitimate traders and retailers.

Meanwhile, Co said the price of well-milled rice during the lean months will not shoot up as initially feared by the public.

He said well-milled rice could be sold at a minimum of P35 per kilogram, while premium rice could settle at P39 per kilo.

The Philcongrains official said that based on the pronouncements of government official, there appears to be enough stocks of rice for the lean months of July, August and September. The stocks would come from the summer harvest as well as the shipment of imported rice largely from Vietnam.

IF discussions on the wage hike were not done in May, workers would have benefited more and even would have had a shot at increasing wages to as much as P50 per day.

THE private sector is pushing for the establishment of a “clear-cut” and “coherent” policy on rice hoarding to make it more attractive for companies to import rice into the Philippines.

A government think tank pushed for the crafting of “temporary measures” and the development of the local automotive parts industry to enable the auto industry to cope with the impending full liberalization under the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) by 2010.

DAVAO CITY—A Makati-based Filipino mining company has asked the government to support its move in rescinding the joint venture to mine nickel in southern Davao Oriental, citing alleged lack of interest in its foreign partner to place the project in priority.

SEVERAL nongovernment organizations and multinational corporations (MNCs) belonging to the Coalition for Agricultural Development (Cfad) urged the United States government to help developing countries cope with a global food crisis by setting aside $600 million for the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) agricultural development program for fiscal year (FY) 2009.

THE Philippine air panel was granted two more passenger flight entitlements to Vancouver in Canada, members of the panel said Monday.

TAIWANESE experts urged the Philippine government to start investing more in research so it could exploit the vast potential of its duck industry, both for egg-laying and meat purposes.