Metro Manila LGUs to resell NFA rice

MANILA, Philippines — To widen the availability of affordable rice in markets, the National Food Authority (NFA) would sell some of its rice stocks to local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the NFA would sell its two-month old rice stocks at P38 per kilo to the LGUs, which, in turn, would resell it to the public at affordable prices.

Under Republic Act 12078, the NFA is mandated to dispose of its rice buffer stocks one month before the aging period starts. Rice starts to age at three months from date of storage.

Tiu Laurel, who also chairs the NFA Council, said the initiative would help the NFA dispose some of its stocks, in view of the purchases it will make in the next few months.

“This will help the NFA clear its warehouses in preparation for the upcoming harvest season. Our warehouses are filled to capacity, and I have directed NFA administrator Larry Lacson to have the rice milled immediately so we could saturate the market with (lower priced) rice as we make space for the palay we plan to procure,” Tiu Laurel said.

He added that the NFA would be buying clean and dry palay in the coming weeks at a minimum of P23 per kilo.

Lacson earlier said the NFA would not be able to procure newly harvested palay from local farmers if its warehouses remain full.

Noting its high procurement level last year, Lacson said the NFA achieved 95 percent, about 285,000 metric tons, of its procurement target of 300,000 MT.

“Only after the NFA (release) its rice stocks from warehouses could the agency procure from the local farmers,” he said.