The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is prioritizing the movement of the 888 containers of nearly half a million sacks of rice that remain uncollected at the Manila International Container Terminal and warned that importers may be liable for hoarding.

This was after the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said that several rice importers may be deliberately holding their shipments at ports until prices spike.

In a televised briefing, DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa thanked the PPA for promptly addressing the issue.

“Ang ginagawa kasi daw apparently nitong mga consignee na ito, they want to wait para mas mataas ang presyo ng bigas para lalong lumaki iyong kita nila. Hindi tama iyon and that may constitute hoarding or may iba pang kaso na pwedeng i-file,” De Mesa said.

De Mesa said some importers have even kept stocks inside the ports for nine months.

He said that the actions of the consignee may be constituted as hoarding, which may pose problems in the country’s food value chain.

He said that rice imports are timed and should not coincide with the local harvest season.

De Mesa said personnel of the Bureau of Plant Industry are set to open some of the unclaimed container vans to check on the condition of the rice imports, amid concerns about the quality of the staple grain following months of being unclaimed.

The DA earlier said that port congestion was partly to blame for keeping rice prices high as imports get delayed from being released into the market.

The PPA, however, said there was no congestion in the ports it oversees, and that some importers were deliberately keeping shipments stocked in ports instead of withdrawing them. (ABS-CBN News)