RMSO - FOOD PRODUCTS

Trade Agreement: WTO-AGP/NAFTA/AIT/Canada-Peru FTA/Canada-Colombia FTA Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid Attachment: YES (MERX) Electronic Competitive Procurement Strategy: Lowest/Lower Bid Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No Nature of Requirements: RMSO - FOOD PRODUCTS

E6VIC-120005/A Kobenter, Hélène Telephone No. - (250) 363-3404 ( ) Fax No. - (250) 363-3344

Request for Regional Master Standing Offer(s) (RMSO) for the supply and delivery including offloading of various quantities of food items to kitchens and ships of various Federal Government Departments and Agencies located within the Pacific Region, British-Columbia, Canada on an "as and when requested" basis.

The period of the Standing Offer(s) is for 6 months from 01-Jun-2012 to 30-Nov-2012 with the option to extend the Standing Offer by two (2) additional 6-month periods (Extension 1 = 01-Dec-2012 to 31-May-2013; Extension 2 = 01-Jun-2013 to 30-Nov-2013) under the same conditions.

The requirement is divided into three (3) delivery zones. Offerors may submit an offer for one, two, or all three zones: Zone 1: Capital Regional District and Nanaimo Zone 2: North of Nanaimo, Vancouver Island Zone 3: Greater Vancouver Regional District and Lower Mainland

The requirement is divided into eight (8) food categories as detailed below. Offerors may submit an offer for only one or more food categories within each delivery zone. If Offerors want to deliver to multiple zones, the same pricing must apply.

Offers for each zone and each food category will be evaluated separately.

The total estimated annual expenditure of $12,000,000.00 CAD is expected to be distributed as follows: Annex B - Meat and Poultry $3,700,000.00 Annex C - Fish $1,200,000.00 Annex D - Bread and Bakery Products $300,000.00 Annex E - Dairy Products $1,300,000.00 Annex F - Eggs $200,000.00 Annex G - Fresh Fruit & Vegetables $1,400,000.00 Annex H - Frozen Fruit & Vegetables $700,000.00 Annex I - Miscellaneous Groceries (Retail and Institutional Packs) $3,200,000.00

Above noted estimated annual expenditure does not represent a commitment by Canada and is only an estimation of the potential value of all call-ups which may be placed by the Identified Users against the Standing Offer. (2) Food annexes are separate attachments in Microsoft Excel format that must be downloaded directly from GETS/MERX at www.merx.com

Offerors must submit firm FOB Destination pricing for a minimum 70% of the food items specified in each of the food category selected by the Offeror to be given further consideration.

Offerors may also submit a firm percentage (%) discount offered for the miscellaneous food items not specified in the food annexes. The miscellaneous items must remain within the same food category and delivery zone for which the offeror holds a Standing Offer.

Offerors are responsible for providing pricing as per the unit of issue requested. Failure to do so may render the Offer non-responsive and given no further consideration.

Financial offers for each food category will be evaluated using an aggregate total for a representational basket of food items identified by asterisk "*".

Prices submitted at time of bid closing must be firm for the entire period of the standing offer, unless otherwise specified. Offerors who have been issued a standing offer will receive the opportunity to submit price refreshers in accordance with the terms and conditions detailed in the solicitation document. Minimum order quantities will be not be accepted and will render the bid non-responsive.

The RFSO includes provisions for volume discount pricing. Food purchases exceeding the individual call-up limitation specified in the Standing Offer will be competed amongst Offerors that have been issued a standing offer for the applicable food categories and delivery zones.

The three (3) responsive offers with the lowest evaluated aggregate price for each food category and for each delivery zone will be recommended for issuance of a Standing Offer.

Canada intends to issue a maximum of three (3) standing offers per food category and per delivery zone. The solicitation process could result in the award of up to 72 standing offers.

The financial limitation of the Standing Offers will be prorated to the period of the standing offer and equally divided amongst the successful Offeror(s) using the above mentioned estimated annual expenditures per food category and per delivery zone.

An OFFERORS' CONFERENCE will be held at the PWGSC office at 1230 Government Street, 4th Floor, Victoria BC V8W 3X4 on April 24, 2012. The conference will begin at 1:00PM PDT. The scope of the requirement outlined in the Request for Standing Offers (RFSO) will be reviewed during the conference and questions will be answered. It is recommended that offerors who intend to submit an offer attend or send a representative. Offerors are requested to communicate with the Standing Offer Authority before the conference to confirm attendance. Offerors should provide, in writing, to the Standing Offer Authority, the name of the person(s) who will be attending and a list of issues they wish to table at least five (5) working days before the scheduled conference. Any clarifications or changes to the RFSO resulting from the offerors' conference will be included as an amendment to the RFSO. Offerors who do not attend will not be precluded from submitting an offer.

The requirement is subject to the provisions of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT).

This PWGSC office provides procurement services to the public in English.

Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.