1 month ago
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The National Food Authority (NFA) announced on Tuesday, Feb. 4, that the rice buffer stocks it will disburse as part of the declaration of a food security emergency on rice could be purchased by consumers at ₱35 per kilo as early as this week.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) declared the emergency on Tuesday, Feb. 4, following recommendations from the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) that raised the alarm on the “extraordinary” increase in local rice prices.
Under this, the NFA is authorized to release its buffer stocks to help stabilize prices.
According to NFA Department Manager Roy Untiveros, the agency is now awaiting the DA’s order in order to start the rollout of its buffer stocks.
The rice shall be directed to a wide range of prospective partners, including the Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) program, through its number of stalls and stores; local government units (LGUs); and other government agencies.
Under Republic Act (RA) No. 12078, which amended the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), the NFA is restricted from selling rice directly to the public.
To facilitate such limitations, the DA will oversee the selling of rice, through the state-owned corporation Food Terminal Inc. (FTI).
Untiveros said the NFA’s stocks are in “consumable condition,” noting that these are 25 percent broken well-milled rice, ranging between zero to three months old.
He noted that this is available at ₱33 per kilo for the NFA’s partners, and is suggested to be sold to consumers at ₱35.
“So, hopefully ito ay magkaroon ng epekto sa pagbaba ng presyo ng bigas sa merkado,” the official said.
(So, hopefully this will have an impact on the price of rice in the market.)
Untiveros said based on a pricing framework submitted to the NFA Council, the rice was initially set at P38.
However, it was decided to cut the price in order to accelerate the disbursement of stocks, which will create decongest warehouses to accommodate the upcoming February harvest.
Based on the NFA’s average buying price last year, releasing its rice would incur an estimated loss of ₱12 to ₱15.
Given restrictions from selling, the DA would be receiving the earnings from its stocks. In turn, the DA would replenish the NFA’s stocks.
With this, Untiveros said they would purchase rice from Filipino farmers, with a range of ₱23 to ₱30 for clean and dry palay (unmilled rice) and ₱17 to ₱23 for wet palay stocks.
Waiting game
Following Monday’s declaration, the NFA is now actively finding potential partners to receive its rice buffer stocks.
The agency currently holds a buffer stock of approximately 300,000 metric tons (MT) of rice.
About 150,000 MT of this is expected to be released over the next six months under a “staggered basis”.
“Kami po ay patuloy na nakikipag-ugnayan upang malaman sino ang interested na mag-participate. Kung mayro’n na po, for pick-up po ang ating stock sa mga bodega ng NFA na dadaan sa FTI papuntang mga LGUs bago ma-distribute sa publiko,” said Untiveros.
(We are in constant communication to find out who is interested in participating. If there is already, our stock is for pick-up at NFA warehouses that will go through FTI to LGUs before being distributed to the public.)
The NFA has so far sent 53 letters to LGUs from the National Capital Region (NCR) and Cavite to encourage their participation.
As of writing, the agency is still waiting for a response.
According to the DA, the priority for the NFA’s stocks is the Greater Metro Manila area. However, other locations like Metro Cebu and Iloilo are still expected to receive such stocks.
DA Assistant Secretary Genevieve Guevarra said consumers can expect the ₱35 rice “within the week or next week”.
She said the rice will be first made available at Kadiwa centers and the DA’s partner markets across the capital region.
End in sight
The food security emergency measure is expected to be reviewed monthly by the NPCC to identify if its objectives are being met.
“If we are already seeing the objectives of the declaration, the secretary may lift. Since this is an emergency, we want to resolve it as soon as possible,” said DA Spokesman Arnel De Mesa.
Based on data by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), rice inflation surged to 17.9 percent in July 2023, far exceeding the government’s target of four percent for food inflation.
De Mesa acknowledged that while rice inflation dipped as low as 5.1 percent in November, prices for the staple food remain stubbornly high.
Ideally, he said price levels should return “close” to that of pre-July 2023, before the DA would terminate the food security emergency.
During that time, well-milled rice is priced at P45, while regular-milled is P41.
