THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it canceled the rice import permit covering a 12,480-metric ton (MT) shipment from Vietnam after a complaint that it contained 25% broken-grain varieties instead of the 5% broken that was contracted.
In a statement on Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said Planters Product, Inc. (PPI) filed the complaint, alleging that it found lower-grade rice in its shipment, after it had ordered 5% broken rice.
The import permit was canceled several days before the vessel reached Philippine shores after receiving “derogatory” information about the shipment, which later attempted to leave the Port of Davao.
The shipment, aboard MV Tay Son 2, was equivalent to about one-third of the Philippines’ daily rice requirement of 37,000 MT.
Mr. Laurel added that PPI notified him that the shipment was brought in past the import window of July. The government typically times import arrivals when supply is tight and in order not to depress the price of domestic rice during the harvest.
“The (sanitary and phytosanitatry import clearance) indicated that the shipment was supposed to arrive in July, not September, when the wet-season harvest was about to begin, potentially putting downward pressure on palay (unmilled rice) prices,” the DA said.
The DA noted that without a valid import clearance, the shipment cannot enter the country.
“Under DA rules, agricultural products brought into the country without a valid import permit may be seized and destroyed, ordered returned to the country of origin, or shipped to a third country to protect public health and safety,” it said.
The DA noted that the vessel arrived at the Port of Davao on Sept. 14, but its captain refused to submit the rice shipment for Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) inspection.
On Sept. 17, the vessel left Davao while the Bureau of Customs (BoC) was determining how to handle the cargo.
“Upon learning of its departure, Mr. Laurel instructed the DA’s Inspectorate and Enforcement office to issue a hold order on the unloading of the cargo, alerting the BoC in case MV Tay Son 2 attempted to unload its shipment elsewhere in the country,” it said.
The Philippine Navy intercepted the vessel off Sarangani and brought it to the Port of General Santos City, the DA said, noting that the captain again refused to comply with the BPI inspection request.
The vessel was then ordered to return to Davao, it said. The BPI had recommended returning the rice to its country of origin, and was awaiting action by the BoC.
The DA recommended that the BoC seize the shipment and impose appropriate penalties. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz