MANILA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The Philippines, the world's biggest rice buyer, could import as much as 3 million tonnes of the grain next year after local crops were damaged by typhoons, a government official said on Monday.

   "That's the worst case scenario, you'll never know if harvests may be damaged again and there's also El Nino," National Food Authority (NFA) spokesman Rex Estoperez told reporters when asked if Manila's 2010 rice imports may reach 3 million tonnes.

   He was speaking a day after Manila announced it would hold a third import tender for 600,000 tonnes in December, taking its total purchases for next year to 2.05 million tonnes. 

   It has already held one tender for 250,000 tonnes and now plans three 600,000 tonne purchases in December, all for delivery in 2010. [ID:nMAN481373]

Estoperez said the state grain agency NFA's Dec. 15 tender for 600,000 tonnes of rice would be its last this year and any further purchases would likely happen in the first quarter.

   Total imports scheduled so far for 2010 exceed the 1.775 million tonnes the country imported for 2009 and are near the record 2.3 million tonnes it bought for 2008, which helped send grain prices to all-time highs.

   The Philippines lost 1.3 million tonnes of paddy rice, equivalent to around 845,000 tonnes of milled rice, after three typhoons hit key rice-growing areas in the main Luzon island from late September.

   The country's paddy rice output is forecast to drop 2.4 percent to 16.42 million tonnes in 2009, the first time fall in full-year production since a massive drought hit crops in 1998. [ID:nMAN426276]

   Officials have said they want to clinch purchases before rice prices rise further, especially since India faces a shortfall in supply this year, although with high stocks it may not have to enter the market. [ID:nDEL53099]

   Benchmark Thai rice prices <RI-THWHB-P1> currently stand at $565 a tonne free on board, well short of the values above $1,000 hit in early 2008 when worries about food security caused panic buying of the grain.

   Main rice exporters Thailand and Vietnam are believed to be holding high stocks of the grain.

   Thailand has proposed selling the Philippines one million tonnes of rice each year for the next three years, another NFA official said.

   The proposal is currently being studied by the Philippine government, Ludovico Jarina, NFA deputy administrator, told reporters.

   "I think that is good for the Philippines, because in a way you're being guaranteed that any time you need it, you have supply," Jarina said. (Reporting Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) (( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; +632 841 8914; Reuters Messaging: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )) ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )) Keywords: PHILIPPINES RICE 

Monday, 23 November 2009 11:25:48RTRS [nSP58180  ] {C}ENDS