(Eagle News) – Some 250,000 metric tons of rice imported by the National Food Authority (NFA) have already arrived in the country which pushed the prices of commercial rice lower.
Some of the rice prices became lower – at P36 and P38.
“The Department of Agriculture, commercial rice is now at P36-P38 as a result of the arrival of the 250,000 metric tons of NFA rice from Subic,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.
But Roque said there were delays in the unloading of the NFA imported rice in Subic because of the strong incessant rains last week.
He said that once unloaded, this NFA rice will be sold at NFA price of P27-P32.
On Sunday, around 100,000 sacks arrived in the country from Vietnam. The shipment arrived in the Tabaco port in Albay, for distribution in the Bicol region.
Rice imports also arrived in General Santos City for distribution in the city, as well as in Sarangani.
The NFA earlier assured the public that it had been doing its best to make rice available, accessible, and affordable to the country’s poor and low-income consumers.
“But there are policy and operational decisions it cannot make alone, aside from the fact that natural events can also limit its efficiency and effectiveness in fulfilling its mandate of food security and stabilization of supply and price of the country’s basic staple,” it said in a release.
Imported rice from Vietnam and Thailand started arriving last week, but some cannot be unloaded due to heavy rains at the ports.
“As soon as the weather becomes a little better, the stocks will be immediately brought to NFA warehouses and immediate dispersal will follow. I have instructed all NFA field directors and managers to immediately distribute the stocks as soon as possible to give
immediate relief to our poor countrymen, particularly those belonging to the marginalized sector, and help bring down rice prices,” NFA administrator Jason Aquino said.
“Over the past 45 years, the presence of NFA rice in the market had always been hailed as a fulcrum against inflation. There had been great spikes in the prices of fuel and other basic goods before, but having enough supply of affordable NFA rice has always cushioned our poor kababayan from hunger and economic difficulty,” he explained.
He said NFA had been effective in its mandate in the past because it always had enough buffer stock to stabilize the market when commercial rice prices rise.
On the part of the farmers, on the other hand, Aquino explained that the NFA had already succeeded in influencing palay prices to be more profitable for them as its support price serves as the benchmark for ex-farm prices. (with a DA release)
