HCMC – The General Department of State Reserves (GDSR) has announced that it will re-organize bidding sessions on May 12 to purchase 182,300 tons of rice to meet the target of 190,000 tons for the national reserve, as many winning bidders previously withdrew from signing supply contracts.
GDSR would issue bidding application forms on its system on April 17, news site VnExpress reported.
To date, it had signed agreements to purchase only 7,700 tons of rice, with 3,280 tons being held in stock.
Among the 182,300 tons of rice, GDSR had earlier issued tenders to purchase over 178,000 tons of rice from 28 rice traders, though most of them refused to sign contracts to hand over rice.
Particularly, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, four winning bidders who refused to sign contracts to supply rice for GDSR had registered to export thousands of tons of rice after the prime minister approved the resumption of rice exports and the online customs system for April’s rice export registration was opened.
Accordingly, GDSR suggested adjustments to prevailing regulations to tackle cases similar to these winning bidders.
A GDSR representative told VnExpress that there were rice traders who refused to sign rice contracts after winning bidding sessions over the past few years, but the number of such winning bidders remained modest and the impact was minor.
However, amid the on-going coronavirus pandemic, the demand for rice consumption and storage, as well as for export, has skyrocketed, resulting in scores of rice traders refusing to sign rice contracts. The withdrawal from signing contracts left a substantial impact on rice supplies for the national reserve this year.
GDSR is set to stock over 180,000 tons of rice in June, which is 15 to 30 days later than expected.
