DA: Up to LGUs if they will avail of NFA rice once food security emergency declared

While the target release of rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) is next week once the food security emergency is declared, availability to consumers would be up to local government units (LGU), the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Friday.

"You cannot really say na makaka-avail agad. Depende kung sinong LGU ang may intent na bumili o talagang bibili. Kasi meron namang LGU na nakabili na sila. Meron namang LGU na kulang ang pondo," Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.

(You cannot really say who can immediately avail [of the NFA rice]. It depends which LGUs have intent to buy or will really buy [rice stocks]. There are LGUs who already bought rice socks. Others may not have enough funds.)

Tiu Laurel said his office already received the resolution from the National Price Coordinating Council that recommends the declaration of food security emergency on rice.

This declaration, once approved, would allow NFA to release the rice buffer stock stored in its warehouses nationwide and at the same time allow it to start purchasing rice from farmers this coming harvest season.

"By Tuesday, malamang we will be declaring the rice emergency. That is very welcome dahil mababawasan na mga laman ng warehouse at matutuwa na rin mga farmers dahil makakabili na ang NFA ng bigas mula sa kanila kasi meron ng paglalagyan," Tiu Laurel said.

"And releasing 300,000 tons of rice to the market within six months will ease or soften the market at hopefully bumaba pa ng konti 'yung presyo ng bigas," he added.

Tiu Laurel said the plan is to sell the rice to LGUs and other government agencies at P36 per kilo and pass it on to consumers at P38 per kilo.

The NFA is looking to distribute some 150,000 metric tons (MT) of rice from its buffer stock once a national food security emergency is declared, the DA said Wednesday.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said the prices of rice in the market remained high even after the decrease in the cost of production.

“And so we have to force that price down and we have to make sure that the market works properly,” he added. —KG, GMA Integrated News