date:Mar 27, 2014
operez said the government would require successful bidders to deliver imported rice in four tranches between April and August.
The government was forced to import more rice this year after typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda) destroyed rice farmlands in central Philippines and forced the Department of Agriculture to push back its target of attaining rice self-sufficiency.
Last year, the country's unmilled rice production grew by 2.27 percent on year to 18.44 million metric tons.
Following th