2 weeks ago
7
MANILA, Philippines — Rice millers in Bulacan have agreed to offer rice at P35 per kilo after meeting with National Bureau of Investigation Director Jaime Santiago, the NBI announced yesterday.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between Santiago and representatives of the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement (PRISM) of Bocaue, Bulacan on Feb. 27 at the NBI headquarters in Pasay.
Orly Manuntag, PRISM co-founder, said recent operations against rice hoarders and agricultural smugglers raised concerns among legitimate rice millers and importers in Bulacan, prompting them to seek the NBI’s guidance.
Santiago assured the group that the NBI adheres to due process and will not exert undue pressure or harassment on legitimate businesses.
He also ordered that no operations related to rice or agricultural smuggling should proceed without review and approval from the agency’s top officials.
Following a discussion on pricing, Bulacan rice millers agreed to sell rice at P35 per kilo in support of the government’s campaign for rice stability and affordability.
At Santiago’s request, PRISM members also committed to reporting any instances of rice smuggling or illegal activities in their area to the NBI.
Reference price stable
The country’s reference price for imported rice has been stable in the past two weeks with quotations from key Asian suppliers remaining below $400 per metric ton (MT), according to data from the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The BOC’s latest memorandum showed that its reference value for imported five percent broken Vietnam rice has remained at $385 per MT for the week of Feb. 26 to March 2.
The current reference value for imported Vietnam rice is a third lower than the $579 per MT recorded in the same period of last year.
The BOC bases its reference prices for imported rice on the weekly reports provided by Platts, which is part of the S&P Global Commodity Insights.
An S&P Global report earlier pointed out that the price of five percent broken Vietnam rice in mid-February has fallen to its lowest level in at least 29 months since India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, resumed exporting late last year.
The report attributed the softening of Vietnam rice prices to tepid demand from its major buyers including the Philippines.
Vietnam supplies at least 75 percent of the country’s imported rice.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) pointed out that the country’s implementation of a maximum suggested retail price and the declaration of a food security emergency impacted Vietnam rice prices to fall.
Some local importers and traders have also canceled their contracts with Vietnamese exporters to take advantage of more affordable prices.
The BOC memorandum also showed that the reference price for imported five percent broken rice from other Asian sources has remained below $400 per MT: Myanmar ($384), India ($391) and Pakistan ($384).
The reference price for five percent broken rice from Thailand was pegged at $409 per MT, based on the BOC document.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier announced that the maximum suggested retail price on imported five percent broken rice, which is considered premium grade, would be lowered to P49 per kilo beginning March 1 from its current level of P52 per kilo, reflecting the easing in global rice prices.
Expedite NFA rice pullout
National Food Authority Administrator Larry Lacson yesterday appealed to local government units (LGUs) to expedite the pullout of NFA rice stocks to free up storage space amid complaints from farmers of the agency’s failure to procure palay from them.
Lacson said the sale of NFA rice stocks will enable the NFA to procure more palay from local farmers.
The food security emergency declared by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. allows the NFA to sell its rice stocks to LGUs. The LGUs can resell them at P35 per kilo.
Lacson noted that San Juan City has already started pulling out NFA rice stocks, with Navotas, Cotabato and Camarines Sur expected to follow suit. The Food Terminal Inc. reports that these three LGUs have pending orders for over 120,000 sacks of rice.
According to Lacson, clearing out existing rice stocks is crucial to meeting the country’s new buffer stock levels, as mandated by the Rice Tariffication Law.
This year, the agency needs to procure 545,000 MT of palay to maintain a nine-day buffer supply, with a total of 880,000 MT needed to meet the 15-day target.
Meanwhile, chairman of the House committee on agriculture and food Rep. Mark Enverga lauded the government’s decision to sell NFA rice at P35 per kilo, noting that it marked a major step in stabilizing food prices.
“We do not want to repeat the situation where the prices of rice had a very high increase without proper explanation,” Enverga said in a statement.
On the other hand, Speaker Martin Romualdez urged candidates in the midterm elections to prioritize rice affordability, stressing that while recent government measures have yielded positive results, sustained efforts are necessary to achieve long-term solutions.
“Numbers and reports are not enough. We need to go down to our districts, talk to the farmers, vendors and consumers. We need to ask them if there are rice available for cooking for each Filipino family. How can we decrease the prices of rice without our farmers losing money,” he said. — Bella Cariaso, Jose Rodel Clapano
