MANILA, Philippines — The National Food Authority (NFA) is set to bring down its palay buying price to a range of P23 to P25 per kilo as part of the government’s bid of reducing retail prices of rice while ensuring farmers get substantial profit.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. revealed in a Senate committee on agriculture and food hearing yesterday that the NFA Council has approved the lowering of the grains agency’s buying price.
The new price range would begin in a week’s time, said Tiu Laurel, who chairs the NFA council, the agency’s highest policy-making body.
The new price range is well within the NFA’s Price Range Scheme (PRICERS) for its palay procurement which ranges from P23 to P30 per kilo.
“World prices are going down and the price of rice will not go down in the market if the buying price of the traders and government is still high,” Tiu Laurel told reporters yesterday.
“At P23 per kilo, farmers would still earn a profit. In fact, at P21 per kilo they already earn a profit. So we are managing everything, we are not forgetting our farmers,” Tiu Laurel added.
The NFA presently buys palay at a range of P27 to P28 per kilo. Since implementing the PRICERS in April, the NFA adjusts its buying price range to be able to compete with the prevailing prices being offered by private traders.
The higher buying rice range allows the grains agency to beef up its buffer stock that is used for calamity relief operations.
“As part of the whole system, we have to tame the price of palay to give way for cheaper rice and for us to be able to budget properly our fund (for buffer stocking). At a lower buying price, we will be able to procure more and help more farmers,” NFA administrator Larry Lacson said.
The NFA saw its palay procurement in July surge to over 11,000 metric tons (MT), thanks to higher buying prices despite the onset of the lean season.
The NFA said it purchased about 11,212 MT of palay or unmilled rice from local farmers, higher by more than 2,800 percent than the 383.65 MT it bought in the same month of last year.