NFA monitors drop in palay prices to as low as P11.50/kilo

The National Food Authority (NFA) over the weekend called on traders not to shortchange farmers by buying palay or unmilled rice at lower prices, as the agency is now working to deploy more trucks to be able to acquire palay directly from farmers at better prices.

According to NFA administrator Larry Lacson, the NFA has monitored areas where traders have been buying palay from farmers at P11.50 per kilo, with some 32 other areas where buying prices have been reported at P13 to P15 per kilo.

“’Pag nakikita ko ‘yan nalulungkot ako dahil ang puhunan P12 to P14 (per kilo) tapos bibilhin nila P13 (per kilo). In fact ngayon may namomonitor na tayo P11.50 (per kilo) so sabi ko kawawa naman,” he said in an interview on GMA Super Radyo dzBB.

(When I see that, I am saddened because they invest P12 to P14 [per kilo] then these are bought at P13 [per kilo]. In fact we have monitored P11.50 [per kilo], so I said this was not fair.)

Based on the NFA’s Palay Procurement Activity dated April 18, 2024, the agency buys clean and dry palay at P23 to P30 per kilo, and fresh and wet palay at P17 to P23 per kilo.

Lacson attributed the low buying price of palay to traders shortchanging farmers, and the global decline in the price of rice.

“Ang mga dahilan, marami. Unang una, siyempre mga trader, alam nila walang pagpupuntahan ang magsasaka eh puno ang bodega ng NFA. Sasabihin nila ‘Eh wala naman kayong pagbibilhan, puno ang bodega ng NFA. Bilhin ko na lang ng ganito’,” he said.

“Pangalawa, you cannot deny the fact that ang world prices po ng rice medyo mababa, bagsak po, so ang millers, sumusunod po ‘yan sa presyo ng bigas sa pandaigdigan, so lahat na po ‘yan kabit kabit, pero panawagan lang, hindi naman sila masyadong binabarat,” he added.

(There are many reasons. First of all, of course the traders, they know that the farmers do not have a place to sell as NFA warehouses are full. They will say ‘You have no one to sell to, NFA warehouses are full. Let me buy at this price.’

Secondly, you cannot deny the fact that world prices of rice are quite low, they have dropped, so the millers follow the world prices, so all of these are connected, but [let me] just call for the farmers not to be shortchanged.)

The NFA has already bought some 4.6 million sacks of rice, higher than the 3.6 million target of the agency, with the agency planning on procuring more.

To address the low buying price of palay, Lacson said the NFA has freed up warehouses where the newly procured palay from farmers can be stored. It is also fast-tracking the build and repair of some 134 warehouses across the country to increase storage by 800,000 metric tons (MT) by 2028.

Lacson said the agency has just recently cleared up space for 5,000 sacks of rice in its warehouse in San Ildefonso, Bulacan.

The agency has also procured 14 trucks that will be deployed in areas with low buying prices of palay, and acquire these stocks from farmers to be transported into warehouses with capacity. It plans to buy a total of 90 trucks this year, and a total of 600 trucks by 2028.

“For now lahat ng pamamaraan ay ginagawa natin para makuha po natin ‘yung palay ng mga magsasaka kung saan napakababa po ang presyo ng palay (we are doing all the means for us to get the palay of the farmers that are being sold at very low prices),” Lacson said.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. in January said the NFA is set to buy at least 300,000 metric tons of rice this year, with optimism that the country will hit a record for palay production.

Under its mandate, the NFA is tasked to maintain sufficient rice buffer stocks to be sourced mainly from local farmers. The agency, for its part, said it is also mandated to keep and dispose of 99.9% of stocks in good and consumable condition. —RF, GMA Integrated News