There's enough rice in Leyte quake-hit areas — NFA

MANILA, Philippines — State-run National Food Authority maintained that there is enough rice supply in Eastern Visayas following the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that hit the region Thursday.

 

READ: Strong quake jolts Leyte

 

NFA Administrator Jason Aquino said Eastern Visayas has close to 400,000 bags or 20,000 metric tons (MT) of rice available in its warehouses.

 

"The agency’s rice inventory in the region is currently equivalent to 13 days of the daily rice consumption requirement," Aquino said.

 

The prevailing market price of commercial rice in Eastern Visayas also remains stable, based on monitoring reports.

 

READ: At least 2 dead, 72 injured in Leyte quake

 

Prices of regular milled rice remained at P33 to P38 per kilogram while well-milled rice is at P38 to P45 per kilogram.

 

The agency continues to deploy market monitoring teams to assess the rice supply and price situation in the area.

 

READ: Palace deploys ‘all available sources’ to aid Leyte

 

The NFA is inspecting its accredited retail outlets to ensure that affordable government rice is readily available and accessible to the public. It has also activated its operations center to provide quick response to queries and accommodate rice purchases from local government units and relief institutions.

 

The NFA has standing memorandum of agreements with various relief agencies which allow them to withdraw rice on credit from the food agency for their relief operations during calamities and emergencies.

 

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture said no damage on the farm sector has been reported yet.

 

"No significant damages in agriculture and agri facilities have been reported to us by affected LGUs. Our people from the region are doing ongoing field validation," DA said.