NFA buffer stock good for less than a day

MANILA, Philippines — The National Food Authority (NFA)’s rice stock has been depleted to less than a day, but there is no need to worry because the country still has enough supply of the staple, Malacañang said yesterday.

NFA Council chairman and Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. said the agency’s buffer stock is good for just 0.35 days, way lower than the required 15-day rice reserve it is required to maintain at any given time.

In Bicol, NFA information officer Beth Jacob admitted it has no more buffer stock in its warehouses, but they are working double time to buy palay from rice farmers and take advantage of the harvest season.

Jacob said the NFA is still at a disadvantage compared to private buyers since it can only buy a kilo of palay at P17 per kilo compared to P19 to P20 per kilo offered by private and commercial rice buyers.

Jacob also said the approval for rice importation was already “too late” and that “government-to-government” agreement is still the best mode to do it.

For his part, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto called on President Duterte to immediately crack the whip on his “factionalized rice team” as the food staple is a volatile political commodity which could trigger discontent among Filipinos, especially the poor, if its prices continue to spike due to perceived or actual shortage.

Evasco is still blaming the NFA and its officials for making irresponsible statements about the country’s rice supply while those from the agency maintained they only told the truth about the situation.

The NFA is required to have a rice reserve good for at least 15 days during harvest season and at least 30 days during the lean months of July to September. The buffer stock is maintained to ensure that the country will have rice in case of emergency situations or natural disasters.  

Asked about reports that the NFA rice stock has been wiped out, Evasco said: “Wala pa naman, wala pa (Not yet). It’s 0.35 (days).”

The rice reserve is equivalent to 200,000 bags, he added. 

Evasco said the figure would not change “if there is no rice produced tomorrow.”   

But Evasco maintained that there is no rice shortage in the country, citing the expected arrival of imported rice and the “big harvest” of local farmers based on the report of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol during a meeting on March 19.

The NFA only contributes about five percent of the staple in the market.   

“That’s why there was no panic on our end,” Evasco said in a press briefing.

“The purchase of rice is timed to arrive in May, in time for the start of the lean months,” he added. 

Evasco said 501,000 metric tons of rice imported under the minimum access volume arrived last month. The NFA has also been directed to buy 250,000 metric tons, which is expected to be delivered in time for the lean months or before June. 

“So there’s nothing to worry about but we have to ask the traders to bring out their rice and we will ask COA (Commission on Audit) to audit (the NFA’s operations),” the NFA council chairman said. 

‘NFA causing panic’

Evasco claimed that the NFA’s statements about the insufficient rice supply have caused panic that may have raised prices. 

He said some NFA officials continued to release statements despite Duterte’s instruction that the NFA Council chairman is the only person authorized to talk about rice supply. 

“The way things are happening now, they create the artificial shortage and pin down the council; that we are responsible in creating such situation of shortage when, in fact, we have checked that based on the report of the Department of Agriculture, there is so much rice,” Evasco said. 

Evasco said the NFA should be audited to determine if it is buying rice at the right time. 

“Why will you release so much rice to the market when it is in time of the harvest season? Comparing this to the June, July, August, we found in the report that there was less rice given out to the market when at that time it was lean months. Meaning to say, there was few rice available in the market,” he said. 

Evasco said Duterte would be meeting with big rice traders this afternoon to discuss the rice supply situation in the country. – Celso Amo