NFA now authorized to release stock for public sale
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has officially declared a food security emergency on rice based on the recommendation of the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC).
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement on Monday the move was prompted by the “extraordinary” rise in local rice prices that has persisted despite lower global market costs and a reduction in tariffs in July last year.
The declaration was made official through the issue of Department Circular no. 3 series of 2025, signed by Tiu Laurel on February 3.
“This emergency declaration allows us to release rice buffer stocks held by the National Food Authority (NFA) to stabilize prices and ensure that rice, a staple food for millions of Filipinos, remains accessible to consumers,” Tiu Laurel said in the statement.
Prior to the declaration, the NPCC, chaired by Trade and Industry Secretary Maria Cristina Roque, determined that while global rice prices have eased and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reduced the rice
tariff from 35 percent to 15 percent in July to lower the costs, local prices have remained high, the DA added.
The DA said the NPCC has also cited data from the Philippine Statistics Authority PSA), which shows rice inflation surged to 17.9 percent in September 2023, exceeding the government’s target of 4 percent for food inflation.
Rice inflation in July 2023 stood at only 4.2 percent, the NPCC added.
Under the amendment Rice Tariffication Law, the Agriculture Secretary is authorized to declare a food security emergency in response to extraordinary price increases.
Such provision allows the DA head to direct the NFA, which is restricted from selling rice directly to the public, to release buffer stocks to government agencies, local government units (LGUs) and to Kadiwa rolling stores.
The DA said such action is expected to stabilize rice prices and protect consumers from further price hikes.
Current buffer
The agency said the NFA currently holds a buffer stock of about 300,000 metric tons of rice, half of which could be released over the next six months to ensure sufficient supply for emergencies and disaster response.
However, the NFA may increase this volume if necessary, as it prepares to begin palay procurement in the coming weeks.
The DA also emphasized the food security emergency will remain in effect until the situation improves, although the government is set to review the situation regularly to determine when it can be lifted.
Farmers’ reaction
In reaction to the declaration of an emergency situation, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) said the NFA’s management of rice stock must also be improved.
Diosocoro Granada, FFF president, said in a separate statement on Monday that almost one-third of NFA’s current inventory of some 300,000 MT of rice, equivalent to 6 million bags, could already be classified as “aging” rice and should have been disposed of earlier through public auction to interested buyers without the need for any declaration of an emergency.
“A food emergency announcement, however, would authorize NFA to sell its stocks to government agencies at subsidized, below-market rates. Aside from causing the agency to incur huge financial losses, the sale of cheap NFA rice could open the door to widespread leakages and corruption. It could also work against farmers if traders decided to lower their palay buying
prices to compete with NFA rice,” Granada added.
FFF also said congestion in NFA warehouses could have been avoided or minimized through the proper disposal of its stock during the many calamities in 2024 and programmed sales.
Granada added that palay and rice stock in major production areas should have been transferred in advance to urban centers and other demand areas in preparation for the agency’s palay buying and rice distribution activities.
Based on DA’s monitoring of public markets in the National Capital Region, local well-milled rice sold for P40 to P55 per kg on Saturday, while regular milled rice sold for P37 to P46 per kg.
Imported well-milled rice was priced at P40 to P52 per kg while the price of imported regular milled rice ranged from P38 to P48 per kg.
Special variety imported rice fetched P52 to P61 and premium rice, P51 to P58.
Special variety local rice sold for P55 to P63 per kg while premium rice fetched P50 to P57 per kg.