Group says rice supply sufficient, but expensive

MANILA, Philippines - Despite assurance from the government of sufficient supply, a consumer group said yesterday rice remains unaffordable as the price has not gone down since it increased by P2 per kilo last month.

Lita Mariano, spokesperson for Bantay Bigas, said in a statement that the government’s repeated assurance of supply sufficiency is not felt as the price remains high.

Mariano criticized President Aquino’s  declaration in his  State of the Nation Address (SONA) that the country is on track to become self-sufficient in rice, and that it has begun exporting premium quality rice.

In the same week, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala announced that the agency had shipped a second batch of aromatic rice to Singapore, which enabled it to surpass its 2013 export target of 100 metric tons.

Mariano, however, said while the agency boasts of being able to “feed” overseas Filipinos in Singapore, the price of the commodity has not gone down despite the distribution of cheaper NFA (National Food Authority) well-milled rice in urban centers.

The DA earlier said the distribution of cheap NFA rice would cushion the normal price increases during the lean months of July and August. Bantay Bigas claimed otherwise.

The President first announced the rice self-sufficiency program in his 2012 SONA. In his 2013 SONA, Aquino announced that rice imports have progressively gone down from two million metric tons in 2010; 855,000 in 2011; 500,000 in 2012, to a target of 350,000 metric tons this year.