DA expands aromatic white rice plantation in W.Visayas

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Western Visayas is now expanding its plantation of aromatic white rice variety to export market abroad, according to Department of Agriculture -6 director Larry Nacionales.

Nacionales said their try-out export last year in Hong Kong indicated that this variety has a big market potential in other countries also.

Nacionales said this rice variety was taken originally from India but later developed by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), of which Region 6 is one of the beneficiaries.

The one sack of this rice variety was given to Region 6 and was planted in a 3-hectare land owned by Western Visayas Integrated Agricultural Research Center (Westviarch) at sitio Hamungaya in Brgy. Buntatala of Jaro district in this city.

The variety was later distributed to other farmer beneficiaries particularly in Calinog town of Iloilo for reproduction purposes.

Apart from several producers in Calinog, the director said there were also other producers of the same variety in the provinces of Aklan, Antique and Negros Occidental.

"This is good news to us that Region 6 is now producing this quality aromatic white rice, which we wanted to export in this cropping period," he said.

Nacionales said a kilo of this rice cost P160 from direct suppliers but the price is much higher in the export market.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala had also wanted to promote this rice in other countries, like Korea, due to its aroma and high nutrition level.

Other special rice varieties, such as colored rice (black, red, pink, brown and purple) and long grain white rice, are also mulled for export, Alcala added. (FREEMAN)

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