NFA increases Cebu retailers’ rice share

The National Food Authority will increase by about 50 percent the rice allocation to accredited retailers in Cebu starting tomorrow.

Erwin Gok-ong, president of the Cebu Market Vendors Cooperative and vice president of the Grains Retailers Confederation in Cebu, said his groups are happy with the NFA decision because it translates to better access of affordable rice for more people.

The NFA has started increasing the allocation of rice retailers last month from 20 bags per week to 30 bags, then recently to 35 bags.  With the 50 percent increase by tomorrow, outlets such as that of Gok-ong’s will then be receiving 50 bags weekly.

Gok-ong said that they anticipated that the supply of NFA rice will increase more and they would receive more allocations in the coming weeks.  This sufficient supply of NFA rice has even decreased gradually the price of commercial rice in the market, he said.

Gok-ong said that he used to buy a sack of commercial rice from Iloilo at P1,800 but the price has now gone down to P1,700.  The price drop however could not be reflected directly to the retail price because the P200 decrease is “just too small”.

“But this is an indicator nga naa’y pagmubo sa presyo sa commercial rice.  Tingali na-anticipate na nila (commercial rice traders) nga modaghan ang NFA rice,” he said.

The retailers, however, may no longer sell NFA rice in the coming weeks because the government has decided to pull out its stocks of P18.25 NFA rice from the market and sell it directly to the “poorest of the poor” through its Tindahan Natin Outlets, said Gok-ong.

The other day, NFA-7 director Danilo Bonabon said that in June 2007, there were just 900,000 bags of rice available for Central Visayas compared to the 2.9 million bags this month.

Presidential Management Staff director general Cerge Remonde also announced that the government is targeting to double its NFA rice importation starting this month to ensure a stable rice supply. 

From 150,000 metric tons the NFA has increased its importation to 300,000 metric tons, Remonde said, adding that the government can flood the market with enough rice to end speculations of a rice shortage.

Remonde said the government hopes that by 2010 the country will already be 98 percent rice supply sufficient because of the implementation of several agricultural support programs. — Wenna A. Berondo/RAE