Yap orders probe of rice overpricing in Metro Manila, other urban areas

MANILA, Philippines - Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap has ordered the National Food Authority (NFA) to investigate reports that rice is being overpriced in some markets in Metro Manila and other urban centers.

Yap also directed NFA administrator Jessup Navarro to deploy monitoring teams to check on rice prices and supply movements nationwide to avert any artificial shortage and prevent unscrupulous traders from taking advantage of the situation.

He warned rice traders against overpricing, saying that the government would not hesitate to revoke their license if they are found violating the rice trading rules.

At the same time, Yap assured consumers that there is sufficient supply of rice across the country and that the government has enough stocks to stabilize the market.

The NFA has a safe inventory level of 996,000 metric tons, which is sufficient for 28 days at a daily consumption rate of 36,300 metric tons.

The country’s total rice inventory is estimated to last for 77 days with commercial rice stocks placed at 460,000 metric tons and household stocks at 1,350,000 metric tons.

Navarro said that government stocks are expected to further increase with the arrival, starting this January until May, of two million metric tons of imported rice contracted last year.

The NFA will also be buying local palay starting this February when the summer harvest begins.

In a separate interview, GMA Rice Program director Dr. Frisco Malabanan said the DA’s palay production target this year could range from 17.4 million metric tons to just over 18 MMT depending on the budget that would be approved.

The lower range of the palay production target of 17.4 MMT, Malabanan said, is the tentative target this year, which would equal the targeted palay production for 2009.

There are still no official figures on the actual 2009 full year palay production. Following the devastation caused by typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng,” the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics had projected a lower palay production target for 2009 of closer to 16.4 MMT.

In 2008, the country’s palay production was 16.8 MMT.

Ondoy and Pepeng wiped out nearly 1.3 MMT of palay production last year.

The 17.4 MMT palay production target is also based on a drastically reduced GMA Rice Program budget for 2010 of P3.1 billion (without irrigation) compared to the almost P7 billion budget for 2009. – Marianne Go