THE National Food Authority (NFA) said on Tuesday it has intensified its palay procurement activities, even as it continues to monitor the rice situation as part of the agency’s preparations for the onset of the lean months that starts in July.
NFA Administrator Renan B. Dalisay said aside from nonstop massive procurement of palay from farmers across the country, the food agency’s monitoring teams are closely watching the behavior of rice prices and supply to avert any speculative price spikes that traditionally occur during this period.
“The agency continues to accept palay deliveries from farmers. We urge our farmers to sell their produce to the NFA offices near them to take advantage of our buying price of P17 per kilogram plus incentives,” Dalisay said.
As of May 26 Dalisay said the NFA had already bought a total of 1.593 million metric tons (MMT) of palay nationwide, surpassing its targets from January to date of 1.202 MMT.
“Even while we continuously maintain the 30-day buffer stock for the coming lean months, current industry rice stocks as of May 29, 2015, are sufficient at 2,784,700 MT [metric tons] or equivalent to last for 90 days,” Dalisay added.
In the meantime, Dalisay said the NFA is constantly assessing the impact of El Niño on rice supply and prices.
“Despite the effects of the weather phenomenon, we noted that commercial rice prices continue to decline, ranging from P32 to P35/kg even in drought-affected areas,” Dalisay said. He cited the Philippine Statistics Authority’s report that showed the average retail price for regular-milled rice (RMR) of P37.28/kg was down by 0.23 percent from last week’s level and by 4.32 percent from the same period last year. Likewise, prices of NFA rice remains the same despite past increases in oil prices, Dalisay added.
“We would like to inform the public that NFA rice remains available at P27 and P32 per kilogram for RMR and well-milled rice, respectively, through the agency’s 16,407 existing active market outlets nationwide,” Dalisay said.
Image credits: Leonardo Perante II