Grain retailers group deploys rolling stores

CEBU, Philippines - The Grain Retailers Confederation of the Philippines-Cebu has deployed “rolling stores” in identified areas in Cebu to sell affordable NFA rice to consumers amid the price hike of commercial rice.

Currently, the association has 10 trucks or “rolling stores” to go to Cebu barangays, which have no easy access to the major markets, said Grecon Vice Chairman Celsa Bernales.

She said they started introducing these stores this week to help consumers who have no access to buy the cheaper rice variety.

The NFA rice with 25 percent broken grain are sold at P27 per kilo and those with less broken rice sell at P32 per kilo. The prices are mandated by the National Food Authority.

“Ang purpose gyod sa NFA rice at least makasagang-sagang sa mga consumers kay medyo mahal ron ang commercial rice,” Bernales added. “Maayo na lang makapalit sila sa duha (commercial and NFA), mabalanse pud ba.”

Grecon Chairman Semy Cabuenas told The FREEMAN in an interview three “rolling stores” will visit towns in Southern Cebu; four in Northern towns; and the remaining three will sell in Metro Cebu areas.

The chairman said the owners of these trucks are the members of the union that currently has more than 100 members in Cebu, adding that they plan to add more stores in the coming weeks.

Bernales further added the confederation’s implementation of mobile stores can be considered a community service to small consumers considering that store owners have to spend for the capital, vehicle and transportation cost.

“Mura ni siya og special project ba especially karon nga lean months sa mga bugas mao nga moduol mi sa mga barangay nga layo sa merkado,” she said, adding that they can only sell up to four kilos of NFA rice to every consumer.

Grecon said the rolling stores will exist until prices of the commercial rice become normal and lean season for rice supply ends.

The NFA-7 appreciates the move of the union to penetrate some places in Cebu which have less access to major public markets, said NFA-7 Assistant Regional Director Nestor Rey Alcoseba.

These stores that sell only NFA rice now exist especially because prices of commercial rice have gone up in recent weeks.

The accredited NFA retailers of Grecon has gone out of their way to make goods more accessible to community residents, said Grace Rodriguez, the agency’s acting provincial manager.

She told The FREEMAN that each “rolling store” vendor gets an allocation of 100 sacks of NFA rice from the agency.

She emphasized that retailers must always adhere to the suggested NFA retail prices – P27 and P32 – or else they will be reprimanded.

Rodriguez said that in Cebu, there are about 180 registered Bigasan ng Bayan stores which also sell NFA but only around 160 are actively selling now in nine major public markets.

NFA retailers in some markets are only allowing every consumer to buy at least 2 kilos of such rice variety. The agency earlier said it also understands the intention of these vendors to be able to sell and share the products to more buyers. (FREEMAN)