There’s still so much rice, though, Evasco says
(Eagle News)– The National Food Authority has less than a day’s worth of rice buffer stock, but NFA Council Chair Jun Evasco said there was no need to panic.
While the buffer stock equivalent to 200,000 bags was only good for 0.35 of a day, the NFA Council chair said the country still had more than enough rice.
The government requires a 15-day buffer stock at any given time.
“Because according to the (Department of Agriculture) Secretary, it’s only now that they have a big harvest from the Filipino farmers – that’s why there was no panic on our end,” Evasco said.
Evasco also slammed the NFA management for creating an “artificial shortage,” noting that statements about the zero-NFA rice buffers stock “muddle the issue and create panic.”
President Rodrigo Duterte is slated to meet rice traders on Thursday, April 5.