Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News.

MANILA (UPDATE) – The National Food Authority is hiking the price of the rice it sells to P38 per kilo from just P25 a kilo.

The NFA Council earlier approved the P13 increase in the price of NFA rice per kilo as part of efforts to minimize the agency’s losses in its operation. The NFA said it estimates that the price hike will generate P557 million in revenues for the agency.

NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said the agency posted a net loss of P6.19 billion as it pursued its mandate to buy palay from local farmers to build a 9-day buffer stock of about 300,000 metric tons of rice.

Lacson said he does not see any challenges in implementing the new price scheme, as the agency sells to other government agencies. Under the Rice Tariffication Law, the NFA is no longer allowed to directly sell to public markets, and its function was limited to ensuring buffer stocks for disasters. 

Buyers of NFA rice include the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Office of Civil Defense, National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, local government units and some legislators. 

“In fact, sa DSWD na siyang pinakamalaking bumibili sa atin, eh parte po siya ng NFA Council at matagal na po nilang–at aprubado po nila ito,” he said. (In fact, the DSWD is our biggest buyer and it is part of the NFA Council and they approved this.)

The Department of Agriculture is also in favor of the price hike.

“The higher selling price agreed to by the DSWD will help not only reduce NFA  losses but also give it additional resources to buy more palay from our farmers,” said Agriculture Sec. Francisco Tiu Laurel.

The DA said that the NFA Council earlier this year had approved a higher buying price range of P17-P30 a kilo from last year’s P16-P23 a kilo to allow the grains agency to compete with private traders who have driven prices higher due to El Niño and the lingering effect of India’s rice export ban. India has since lifted the ban.

“The adjustment in its palay procurement price has allowed NFA to buy around 3.5 million, 50-kilo bags of palay at the end of the first half, after only only procuring less than 200,000 bags prior to the NFA Council decision in June,” the DA said.

The additional revenue will allow NFA to buy an additional 400,000 50-kilo bags of palay from farmers which would boost the government corporation’s rice buffer and increase farmers’ income, Lacson said.

“That’s easily 12,600 metric tons of incremental rice supply,” said Lacson.“

“For this wet season, NFA plans to buy between 6.4 million to 8.7 million bags of palay. It has sought from the Department of Budget and Management the immediate release of P9 billion of rice procurement funds, increasing its war chest to around P11 billion,” the DA said.

The government is expecting rice prices to go down after tariffs on imported rice were reduced.

Published Date: October 4, 2024