MANILA: The Philippines’ state grains agency has been authorized to import an additional 500,000 tons of rice for emergency needs, President Benigno Aquino said, as the government struggles to bring down record-high prices of the national staple.

“The NFA has a standby authority to import 500,000 metric tons in preparation for possible calamities,” Aquino said in his annual State of the Nation address.

The announcement comes as the National Food Authority (NFA) prepares to hold an “open bidding” next month for the importation of 500,000 tons of rice to boost thin stockpiles after a typhoon damaged crops early this month.

The Philippines’ increasing rice imports, expected to be the highest in four years, may exceed 2 million tons this year and could further underpin export prices in key producers including Vietnam, its traditional supplier.

Next month’s tender is open to rice exporters in other countries including Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.

Last week, the Philippines’ food security chief, Francis Pangilinan, said rice inventories held by the NFA, the private sector and households were good for 82 or 83 days of national consumption, below a requirement for a 90-day buffer stock.

President Aquino said the government was determined to import sufficient amounts of rice to bring down retail prices of the grain which, according to the latest government report, hit new highs this month.

For the Philippines, importing more rice is necessary to stop rice hoarding and force traders to unload more stocks into the domestic market, Aquino said.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has forecast that the Philippines may need to import as much as 2 million tons of rice this year and 1.8 million tons in 2015.

With purchases this year possibly reaching around 2.2 million tons, the Philippines is on track to become the world’s third biggest buyer of rice, according to USDA estimates, up from the No. 8 spot it held last year.

Ahead of the NFA’s Aug. 12 tender for 500,000 tons of rice, Vietnam has set the export price floor for its 25-percent broken grade at $410 a ton, reflecting a surge in recent weeks due to rising demand and low stocks.

The higher floor price could make rice from Vietnam, the world’s second-largest rice exporter after India, less competitive on global markets.