Private trading companies in Philippines have decided to bid for a rice import quota of 163,000 MT from the National Food Authority, NFA on May 9.

The import tariff of 50% will be charged to the NFA's tax expenditure subsidy in lieu of the service fee private importers will pay the agency. The volume forms part of an import allocation the NFA has set aside for the private sector.

The Philippines has set an import quota of 2.1 million MT for the year, its highest since 1998 when the country imported a record high of 2.2 million MT following a severe and prolong El Nino-induced dry spell that ravaged crops across Asia.

The Philippines is the world's largest importer of rice this year.