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Workers unload bags of rice from a truck at a warehouse on Dagupan Street in Divisoria, Manila, on February 3, 2025.
Rappler
The food security emergency, declared by agriculture chief Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., will enable the NFA to release rice buffer stocks
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) declared on Monday, February 3, a food security emergency on rice after the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) determined that there was an extraordinary increase in rice prices amid tariff reduction and decline in global prices.
Under a food security emergency, the National Food Authority can sell rice buffer stocks to local governments, making cheap NFA rice more accessible to consumers.
“This emergency declaration allows us to release rice buffer stocks held by the National Food Authority to stabilize prices and ensure that rice, a staple food for millions of Filipinos, remains accessible to consumers,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement on Monday.
The NFA also had to free up its warehouses — currently housing 300,000 metric tons of rice — in time for the harvest season.
Tiu Laurel issued Department Circular No. 3 on Monday to declare the emergency. This will remain in force until he lifts the declaration.
The DA chief can declare a food security emergency through the recommendation of the NPCC, following the amendment of the Agricultural Tariffication Act.
The declaration faced some delays as the NPCC’s resolution was only finalized on January 27 and had to make the rounds across concerned government agencies. – Rappler.com
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