NFA to buy palay by end of March to avoid higher prices amid surging fuel costs

The National Food Authority plans to buy palay (unhusked rice) by the end of March to replenish the national buffer stock, as doing so earlier may cause price increases among traders, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said Sunday.

He shared that the agency is currently buying fresh palay at P17 per kilo and dry palay at P21 per kilo to avoid competition.

“Kung kami ay kukuha pa ng palay sa anihan sa ganitong panahon, baka mas lalo kami maka-add ng pressure para tumaas ang presyo, so antayin natin na mas kalma ang presyo,” Lacson told Super Radyo dzBB.

(If we buy palay from the harvest at this time, we might add more pressure to drive prices up, so we will wait until prices stabilize.)

“Siguro by the end of March, saka kami bibili para ma-replenish naman ang buffer stock (we’ll probably start buying palay by the end of March to replenish the buffer stock),” he added.

The NFA head said the national average prices are P21 per kilo for fresh palay and P25 per kilo for dried palay.

According to Lacson, the government aims to have 790,000 metric tons of rice in the national buffer stock this year.

He explained that if the cost of fuel increases, logistics and transportation prices will also go up.

“Ang mga magsasaka natin, kapag tumataas ang fertilizer, binhi, ang nangyayari, nagtitipid sila ng inilalagay nila sa halaman. In a way, kapag ganyan, ang ani natin na hindi masyadong nabigyan ng sapat na pataba, bumababa ang ani,” Lacson said.

(When the cost of fertilizer and seeds goes up, the farmers end up cutting expenses and the harvest suffers because the rice plants don’t get enough fertilizer, resulting in lower yields.)

On Saturday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. assured the public that the country’s food supply remains stable, amid the oil price hikes following continued tensions in the Middle East.

“Definitely, there is no issue on supply. I can safely say that through June, even July, there is no issue on supply of almost everything,” Laurel said, adding that inventories and ongoing harvests remain adequate.

According to the DA, rice, the country’s staple food, shows supply stability, with the NFA currently holding about 400,000 metric tons in buffer stock, which is enough to feed all Filipinos for 10 days.

It added that peak harvest season and incoming imports further boost rice’s availability.

The Department of Energy (DOE) earlier announced the following fuel price adjustments for the week of March 17 to March 23:

• Diesel - P20.40 to P23.90 per liter
• Gasoline - P12.90 to P16.60 per liter
• Kerosene - P6.90 to P8.90 per liter

According to an industry source, estimated adjustments in fuel prices per liter for next week are the following:

• Diesel - P16.50 to P17.50 per liter
• Gasoline - P7.50 to P8.50 per liter

—RF, GMA Integrated News