BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and JED MACAPAGAL
The National Food Authority (NFA) Council yesterday set a new buying price range for palay at P19 to P23 per kilogram (kg) for dry and P16 to P19 per kg for fresh, respectively, following the changing production and market conditions.
The move is not seen drastically affecting retail prices of locally-milled rice.
President Marcos Jr. , in a video message after the meeting of the NFA Council which he chairs, said he convened the body to review the NFA’s current buying prices of palay (unmilled rice).
The NFA, in a news release, said the original proposal was at P20 and P25 for fresh and dry, respectively, but these were deemed too high which could lead to a spike in the retail prices. At these levels, the NFA would need P15 billion to procure palay.
Data from the Philippine Rice Research Institute-Philippine Rice Information System showed the average price of fresh palay was at P17.83 per kilo while dry palay was at P19.33 per kg l from July to August.
The President said the new buying prices will help augment the income of farmers while ensuring sufficient supply of the staple.
The President said apart from the new buying prices, the price caps of P41 per kilo on regular milled rice and P45 per kilo on well milled rice will continue to be implemented.
“We decided the buying price of NFA from now on will be P19 to P23 for dry, and P16 to P19 for wet palay. That is what we are doing to give our farmers a good livelihood. The production cost of farmers is also good at P14 to P15. So they will have some income,” he added.
The NFA said the new decided price range balances the profit of farmers and will not affect the retail prices as much.
Jayson Cainglet, Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) executive director, in a statement said if the NFA buys palay at a maximum of P23 per kg, there will be less pressure from traders to haggle their buying price.
Cainglet said SINAG has always advocated that NFA intervene in areas where prevailing farmgate prices fall below P20 per kg.
“That has been our pleading since day one of the spike in rice crisis; which we squarely blame on NFA’s inability to procure even a single kilo of their P8.5-billion budget,” he said.
SINAG added as peak harvest starts next week, well milled rice should go below the range of P40 to P44 per kg.
Raul Montemayor, Federation of Free Farmers national manager, said in a separate statement that if necessary, the government should also augment the buying funds of the NFA and help the agency set up post-harvest facilities so that it can absorb even freshly harvested palay from farmers.
“If traders buy at P23 per kilo clean and dry, the retail price should be in the vicinity of P46 per kilo for well-milled rice which is only P1 above the price ceiling of P45. Overall, we feel this is a good win-win solution where retail prices will be kept in check even if farmers are allowed to get a reasonable price for their palay,” Montemayor said.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, meanwhile, said the NFA procurement will be concentrated in areas where there is excess supply of palay relative to local demand.
“In that case it can help elevate farm gate price,” Balisacan said.
The NFA, meanwhile, committed that the imported rice that the agency would acquire “would not enter the market since it should only serve as a buffer.”
“The buffer is only for the poor,” it said, adding that they are also looking at providing physical rice stock instead of cash assistance to the indigent beneficiaries such as those under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program.
Based on monitoring by the DA on public markets in the National Capital Region yesterday, the price of local well-milled rice is between P45 and P49 per kg; and regular milled, P40 to P44 per kg.
The price of imported well milled rice is also at P45 per kg. Prices of imported regular milled were not available.
Imported rice ranged from P53 to P65 for special variety and P53 to P58 for premium.
For local rice, special variety was at P54 to P62 per kg and premium at P50 to P60 per kg.
