Duterte: Expedite importation of 250,000 MT of rice

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has ordered state-run National Food Authority (NFA) to expedite the importation of 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice to ensure immediate stability of market prices of the country’s main staple.

During the interagency NFA Council meeting at Malacañang on Monday night, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the President told his Cabinet he did not want a repeat of the 2008 rice crisis.

“The President himself directed NFA administrator Jason Aquino to start the procurement process of the 250,000 MT to serve as the buffer stocks of the agency,” Piñol, who was present at the meeting, said.

“There is no problem with us since harvest season is about to be finished. We have to bring in the rice supply earlier to stabilize the price in the market,” he added.

Early last month, the NFA Council approved the importation of 250,000 MT of rice via open-tender scheme but on condition that it would only arrive by the first week of June.

“I manifested that the NFA should now be allowed to start the procurement process since the harvest season for the first quarter is almost over and that it would take 45 days before the stocks would arrive,” Piñol said.

“If we start now, it will likely arrive late April or early May and that is better since it will stabilize the price much faster because NFA is really short of their buffer stocks,” he added.

Piñol said the Council, led by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, agreed and instructed Aquino to work on the importation immediately.

Since the start of the year, commercial rice prices have risen due to the lack of cheaper NFA rice despite the expected bountiful rice harvest and ample supplies in the market.

About six to eight percent or the poorest sector of the population depends on NFA rice which serves as the price stabilizer to avoid jacking up of prices of commercial rice, even the premium varieties.

But with NFA’s low inventory, the agency decided to recalibrate its distribution because its primary focus is still to have buffer stock for calamities and in the island provinces of the Philippines.

This resulted in the lack of supply in the major markets, prompting ordinary Filipinos to buy commercial rice which is priced higher at around P45 to a high of P60 per kilo  compared to the P27-P32 of the NFA.

As NFA awaits the arrival of rice imports, the grains agency continues to ramp up its local palay procurement to beef up its dwindling buffer stock inventory.