BOC clarifies delays in rice shipments not caused by port congestion

Transcript

00:00Reports of congestion in the ports of Manila have been grossly exaggerated.

00:06Instead, the real problem is rice traders and consignees abusing the rules of the PPA

00:12in the hopes of jacking up the cost of stockpiled rice in container vans.

00:17But the PPA is fighting back and has set a deadline of October 1

00:21for these traders to offload their merchandise at the pier in this report.

00:26The Philippine Ports Authority has given importers and consignees until October 1

00:33to remove imported rice shipments that have been sitting at ports

00:37for over 30 days after being cleared with taxes and tariffs.

00:55The PPA earlier revealed that half of the 888 containers of imported rice

01:09in two major Manila ports had been extended storage or overstaying status.

01:14Nearly 300 containers have been pulled out since the report.

01:25Meanwhile, advocacy group Bantay Bigas is calling for stopping hoarding charges against importers.

01:55The Samahang Industria ng Agrikultura or SINAG has called for the blacklisting of importers

02:10who are allegedly stockpiling rice supplies at ports.

02:14According to the Bureau of Plant Industry, approximately 3 million metric tons of rice

02:19have been permitted to enter the Philippines since January of this year.

02:23SINAG emphasized that consumers should experience a drop in rice prices

02:27following the approval of reduced tariffs on imported rice.

02:31What we are still seeing is that the price should drop

02:37because there are already 16 million tons of rice that have been imported.

02:45If the PPA is really building a warehouse, their permit should be suspended.

02:53That's why the Blacklist of the Bureau of Plant Industry.

02:58The BPI is set to conduct inspections to determine whether the quality of imported rice

03:03remains acceptable and safe for consumption.

03:06We are concerned about food safety.

03:08This is the only one that has been loaded for 275 days.

03:11So, it has been 9 months since it was loaded.

03:14Plus, we need to see when it was harvested.

03:17Because if it lasts for a year, the rice will be old.

03:22We just would like to ensure the food safety of the rice.

03:26Kalei Zalpardilla for the New and Better Philippines.

03:31The Bureau of Customs or BOC clarified the delays in rice shipments

03:36are not caused by port congestion.

03:38According to the BOC, 258 shipping containers with rice are still at the Port of Manila.

03:44237 of these are cleared for release following the payment of duties and taxes,

03:50while the remaining 21 containers are still being processed for clearance.

03:54630 rice containers remain at the Manila International Container Port

03:59where 492 have been cleared for release.

04:02The BOC also stressed no rice shipments have surpassed the 30-day period

04:07set by the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.