MANILA — The National Food Authority (NFA) has assured the public that the agency will continue to distribute its PHP27 and PHP32/kilogram rice in the markets to ensure that consumers will have alternative sources of low-priced rice.
The NFA distributes rice through its 15,892 inside and outside market accredited retailers and outlets such as Institutionalized Bigasan sa Palengke, Bigasan Bayan, Barangay Bagsakan/Barangay Food Terminal, Bigasan sa Parokya, rolling stores and the Tagpuan Rice Response Delivery in remote barangays.
NFA’s rice distribution also includes those released to relief agencies in response to calamities or disasters, other government agencies, and NFA programs.
From January to August 23, the NFA had already distributed a total of 4,443,082 bags of rice through its accredited retailers, outlets and other recipients.
In a meeting held September 4, the NFA Council has approved an additional importation of 250,000 metric tons of rice to beef up the current NFA stocks and enable the agency to effectively respond to the growing clamor for cheaper rice.
The additional importation can increase NFA’s active participation in the market by as much as 20 percent.
In a special meeting held on August 29, the NFA Council also approved the immediate importation of 133,500 metric tons of rice by the private sector for distribution to Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi (Zambasulta) to mitigate the high prices of commercial rice in these areas.
The NFA was also instructed to allocate additional rice stocks to the Zambasulta provinces to provide consumers more sources of low-priced good quality NFA rice at PHP27/kg. (NFA PR/PNA)
