Farmers lament decrease in palay price

SAN MIGUEL, Bulacan , Philippines — As the harvest season is starting to pick up, farmers are lamenting that the buying price of palay has fallen below P10 per kilo.

Simeon Sioson, chairman of the Four SM Agri Multipurpose Cooperative based in Barangay Lambakin in this town, yesterday told The STAR that before the price decreased, the farmgate price of the staple was at  P14 or P15 per kilo.

The town of San Miguel is considered as the rice granary of Bulacan.

However, Sioson said that several days ago, the farmgate price of newly harvested palay went down to only P6 or P8 per kilo.

Palay and rice trader Tony Santos confirmed Sioson’s statement, saying that the farmgate price of palay in Tarlac decreased to P6 or P10 per kilo, depending on the quality of the grain.

Sioson, Santos and other farmer leaders in San Miguel said that most warehouses of the National Food Authority (NFA) in Bulacan have stopped buying palay due to limited storage space.

They said the NFA procures fresh palay at P17 per kilo and P23 for clean and dry palay.

Farmers said the NFA prefers clean and dry palay to the newly harvested grain.

In a text message to The STAR, NFA-Bulacan manager Rhona Talens said that NFA warehouses are still at full capacity and that the agency is issuing palay stocks to private mill contractors in order to increase the rice buffer and create warehouse spaces.

Talens said the agency still procures palay for NFA warehouses that  still have available spaces.

NFA Administrator Larry Lacson confirmed that the agency’s storage space is limited, and most of their warehouses are full.

Lacson said the NFA is still buying palay, but the queues for farmers trying to sell their produce remained long. He said the agency prefers clean and dry palay as it lacks storage and drying facilities.

He said the NFA is planning to rent additional warehouses if the budget would allow it.