On August 27, 2018, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, announced details of actions the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would take to assist farmers in response to trade damage from unjustified retaliation. As part of those actions, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service announces the Food Purchase of up to $558,815,000 under the authority of Section 5 of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act for distribution to various food nutrition assistance programs. Products to be procured include but are not limited to: Material Code Material Description Solicitation Delivery Timeframe* 111030 PORK PATTY CKD PKG-20/2 LB October, January, April & July December 16, 2018 - December 2019 110980 PORK PULLED CKD PKG-20/2 LB October, January, April & July December 16, 2018 - December 2019 100139 PORK CAN-24/24 OZ October, January, April & July December 16, 2018 - December 2019 100182 PORK HAM WATERAD FRZ CTN-12/3 LB October, January, April & July December 16, 2018 - December 2019 100891 PORK HAM WATERRAD SLC FRZ PKG-20/2 LB October, January, April & July December 16, 2018 - December 2019 110380 PORK CHOPS BNLS FRZ PKG-40/1 LB October, January, April & July December 16, 2018 - December 2019 111015 PORK LOIN ROAST FRZ PKG-12/5 LB October, January, April & July December 16, 2018 - December 2019 TBD PORK TACO FILLING CKD PKG-20/2 LB October, January, April & July December 16, 2018 - December 2019 *Quarter 1 delivery period: Dec. 16, 2018 - March 31, 2019 Quarter 2 delivery period: April - June, 2019 Quarter 3 delivery period: July - September, 2019 Quarter 4 delivery period: October - December, 2019 Solicitations will be issued in the near future, and will be available electronically through the Web-Based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM) system. A hard copy of the solicitation will not be available. Public WBSCM information is available without an account on the WBSCM Public Procurement Page. All future information regarding this acquisition, including solicitation amendments and award notices, will be published through WBSCM, and on the Agricultural Marketing Service's website at www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food. Interested parties shall be responsible for ensuring that they have the most up-to-date information about this acquisition. The contract type is anticipated to be firm-fixed price. Deliveries are expected to be to various locations in the United States on an FOB destination basis. Pursuant to Agricultural Acquisition Regulation 470.103(b), commodities and the products of agricultural commodities acquired under this contract must be a product of the United States, and shall be considered to be such a product if it is grown, processed, and otherwise prepared for sale or distribution exclusively in the United States. Packaging and container components under this acquisition will be the only portion subject to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements, as addressed by FAR clause 52.225-5. Offerors are urged to review all documents as they pertain to this program, including the latest- - AMS Master Solicitation for Commodity Procurements (MSCP), April 12, 2017; - Applicable commodity specification(s) identified in the subsequent solicitation(s); and - Qualification Requirements for Prospective Contractors Selling Commodities to USDA, March 1, 2017. These documents are available on the AMS Commodity Procurement website. To be eligible to submit offers, potential contractors must meet the AMS vendor qualification requirements. The AMS point of contact for new vendors may be reached via email at NewVendor@ams.usda.gov. Details of these requirements are available online at: https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food/becoming-approved. Once qualification requirements have been met, access to WBSCM will be provided. Bids, modifications, withdrawals of bids, and price adjustments shall be submitted using this system. Submission of the above by any means other than WBSCM will be determined nonresponsive. To receive e-mail notification of the issuance of AMS solicitations, contract awards, and other information, subscribe online by visiting: "Stay up to date on USDA Food Purchases" available on the AMS Commodity Procurement website. In an effort to assist all impacted producers, these acquisitions will not be set-aside for small business. Adjustments to the information in this notice may be subject to change due to growing conditions; product availability; market conditions; trade negotiation status; and program capacity. The acquisition schedules are subject to change at the unilateral right of the Government. USDA/AMS reserves the right to update products listed in this pre-solicitation and may procure other commercially available items during the acquisition based on market research and industry feedback. A pre-solicitation call will be held on Tuesday, September 11, at 12:30 p.m. CT. To attend please dial 1-888-844-9904 and enter access code 1801764 Inquiries may be directed to the Contracting Officer, Hilary Cole, via email at hilary.cole@ams.usda.gov.
