AgriNurture partners with PITC to import raw materials for 'BigMa'

Published November 26, 2020 01:10 PM By JON VIKTOR D. CABUENAS,GMA News

AgriNurture Inc. on Thursday partnered with the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) for the importation of raw materials for the company's rice-corn blend to be produced in the country as a staple food alternative for Filipinos.

In a disclosure to the local bourse, ANI said it inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the PITC on Thursday, November 26, to collaborate on the importation of raw materials for the "BigMa" Bigas-Mais blend, a low glycemic and rice in dietary fiber food alternative.

"With the production of BigMa, the company will be able to reduce carbon footprint, provide more livelihood to local farmers as the source of 'Mais', help the country achieve food-staple sufficiency faster, while providing a healthier and affordable option to the public," the disclosure read.

ANI is focused on the export trading of fresh produce as its main revenue stream, supplying home-grown fruits such as mango, banana, and pineapple to customers in Hong Kong, Mainland China, the Middle East, and several European regions.

It is also involved in the rice importation program for the private sector as allowed under the Rice Tariffication Act, signed into law in February 2019, which effectively removed the quantitative restrictions on rice and imposed a 35% tariff on imports from the country's neighbors in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, the PITC — as a government-owned or -controlled corporation (GOCC) — is mandated to engage in both export and import trading new or non-traditional products and markets not normally pursued by the private business sector and provide export-oriented auxiliary services to the private sector.

Just last week, reports indicated that over P33 billion in government funds

are supposedly parked in the PITC, as flagged by Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, citing a Commission on Audit (COA) report.

Senate budget deliberations found that the P9.6 billion of the military fund was still with the PITC, the same case with the Department of Information and Communications Technology's P3.5 billion.

The PITC has since denied that it serves as a "parking lot" for unused funds of various government agencies, as it said it has reverted all unutilized funds back to the National Treasury.

For his part, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the tedious procurement process is the reason why agency funds still remain within the PITC.—AOL, GMA News
 

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