NFA pushes direct rice sales amid crisis
The National Food Authority (NFA) is seeking emergency powers to sell rice directly to the public, hoping to alleviate the impact of the Middle East crisis on the household staple.
NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said that granting the grains agency a temporary authority would help streamline the processes of distributing and selling rice, including milling and the bidding for transport and logistics.
“We have a proposal that, for the meantime while there is a crisis, the NFA should be allowed to sell directly to the market to cut [through] layers,” Lacson said in an interview.
Under existing rules, all government procurement must undergo a bidding process to ensure transparency and fairness as well as competitiveness.
Lacson said the emergency purchase, if approved, will allow the NFA to procure trucks, accelerating the delivery of rice from its warehouses.
Red tape
“Right now, we have to follow all the rules, so that’s why we are a little slow,” he told reporters.
Under the Rice Tariffication Law, the NFA is mandated to maintain an optimal rice inventory level, sourced solely from domestic farmers. Its rice stocks are intended for distribution during emergencies or calamities and sustaining the government’s disaster relief program.
At present, the Department of Agriculture purchases rice from the NFA through the state-run Food Terminal Inc. NFA rice stocks are then sold to eligible beneficiaries for P20 a kilo through the government’s subsidized rice program.
These include senior citizens, persons with disabilities, solo parents, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps beneficiaries, transport workers, minimum wage earners, farmers, fisherfolk and public school teachers.
Lacson said the Philippines is assured of a sufficient rice supply despite the escalating conflict in the Middle East, noting that the existing inventory between the NFA and the private sector is good for 55 days.
For its part, the NFA’s stock will cover 10.3 days of national consumption. Lacson said their inventory is expected to increase as the peak of the harvest season approaches.
As of March 16, local regular milled rice retails from P33 to P48 per kilogram, while local well-milled rice ranges from P40 to P57 per kg.
