Commercial rice up by p2/kilo, NFA rice prices remain stable

CEBU, Philippines -   Prices of commercial rice products in the market have gone up by one to two pesos in recent weeks while prices of rice from the National Food Authority have remained stable.

However, NFA rice retailers in various markets only sell a minimum of two kilos of rice for every consumer. 

NFA-7 Information Officer Lucy Rosales said they have received such reports however, they understand the intention of the retailers to “stretch their stocks” and be able to sell to more buyers.

She said that NFA mandates retailers to strictly follow the imposed retail price of NFA rice at P27 and P32 per kilo, but claims that the agency does not dictate retailers on how many kilos they should be selling for each buyer.

Rosales told The FREEMAN that accredited retailers of NFA rice get their allocation for the goods every week but some of them have already stopped because of some reasons.

NFA rice allocations for Bigasan ng Bayan outlets in major markets are 32 bags, half of the bags are those with 15 percent broken rice and sold at P32 per kilo. While outlets outside major markets only have an NFA allocation of 22 bags, which consist of the P27 per kilo variety.

"For Cebu, ang atong active retailers niabot og 400 plus," she added, "kay ang total man gyod ani niabot na ni actually og  600. Ang uban ani nila na-suspended, nagsara, nasunogan o nasakit."

In fact, NFA has ample supply of rice but some of the goods have not been supplied to the markets due to buffer stocking, said Gerry Avila of Department of Agriculture-7.

The buffer stock scheme is a government attempt to use commodity storage to stabilize prices in volatile markets.

"Kon duna man gani ipang-release, enough lang for one week," said Avila, who is chief of Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division. "Unya gamay ra pud ang retailers nga accredited sa NFA kay ang uban nihunong."

On the other hand, rice vendors at the Carbon Public Market in Cebu City have increased the prices of their commercial rice by a maximum of P2.

A kilo of Ganador now sells at P54 from P52 before; Sinandomeng stands at P41 per kilo from P39; one kilo of Lion Ivory can now be bought at P50 from P48; Manila Rice is sold at P43 per kilo from P42 previously; and Malagkit rice has also increased by P7 -- from P68 to P75 per kilo.

At the supermarkets in Cebu's downtown area, Ganador's price is at P54 but Champion rice is sold P49 per kilo, slightly higher than its public market price at P46; Malagkit also sells at P75 per kilo.

"Nisaka man pud ang palit namo sa mga sako sa bugas gikan sa mga bodega nga among palitanan," said 50-year-old rice retailer Merlinda M. Patindol said. "Siyempre sakaan pud namo among presyo sa among mga baligya."

For instance, they can buy a sack of Ganador rice at P2,500 now from the previous P2,240. A sack of Sinandomeng, if bought from wholesalers, now sells at P1,890 from P1,780 before.

Patindol and her fellow vendors told The FREEMAN that although several individual consumers have been limiting their rice consumption recently due to the price hike, their regular consumers--eatery owners--are still buying same amount of rice.

"Maayo na lang naa among mga suki kay nakabantay gyod mi nga nihinay ang palit sa mga ginagmay namong consumers," the vendor added.

Meanwhile, Rosales explained the recent hike in rice prices can be attributed to the lean months which means off-harvest season for rice farmers, saying it is a "normal occurrence".

Prices of fancy rice varieties -- such as Ganador and Sinandomeng -- are normally expected to go up during the lean season because their abundant production is seasonal, the NFA official said.

DA's Avila said Central Visayas is not a rice producing region although Bohol, one of its provinces, though is considered "self-sufficient" in terms of rice supply because it has big rice land areas among the four provinces.

The region acquires the majority of its supply -- around 60 percent -- from Luzon which is the big rice producer in the country.  

The chief said: "Maong target gyod nato is to increase productivity per unit area dinhi sa ato. Kana aron motaas-taas atong supply."

With the price hike in commercial rice, he assured the public they would continue to monitor market prices especially that it is a very "big issue" in the capital.

Rosales also assured the public there is enough supply of NFA rice in the region, saying that rice imports from Vietnam is continuously entering major markets in Cebu.

The agency said prices of commercial will eventually go down through September when harvest season for rice will start. — (FREEMAN)