EDITORIAL - Rotten rice, again

As commercial rice prices soared up to P70 per kilo in Zamboanga City due to tight supply and low-income households scrambled for more of the cheapest rice from the National Food Authority, over 100,000 sacks of rice imported by the NFA sat in warehouses at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, infested with weevils.

NFA officials pinned the blame on the weather, saying rice weevil infestation was common during the rainy season. The rice, imported from Thailand, arrived earlier this month, but bad weather prevented the immediate offloading of the shipment, according to NFA officials.

If the infestation is seasonal and common, shouldn’t the NFA have devised measures a long time ago to confront the problem? Simply speeding up the offloading and distribution of the rice might have saved much of the shipment from the weevils. Better warehousing facilities can also protect such large amounts of rice from weather-related factors that promote the growth of various types of fungi and infestation of insects.

Rice in a sack can withstand rough handling but is vulnerable to molds and weevils while in storage. Rodents also infest poorly maintained rice warehouses. Aware of the vulnerability of the grain to spoilage, better measures can be drawn up to protect rice stocks. Yet this is not the first time that NFA rice has spoiled while in storage.

The weevils can be killed through fumigation and the rice cleaned for release, according to the NFA. Still, the insect infestation and the fumigation are certain to affect the quality of the grain for consumption.

The spoilage not only wastes precious public funds but also aggravates the limited supply of the rice variety that is within reach of the poorest households. When rice prices are soaring and people wait in long lines just to buy two kilos of cheap rice per household, the spoilage of 100,000 sacks of rice is unconscionable.