GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The National Food Authority (NFA) has infused additional rice supplies in local markets here and nearby Sarangani Province in the wake of the rising prices of commercial rice.
Dionisio Hectin Jr., NFA manager for Sarangani and this city, said Thursday the move was aimed to ensure the availability of cheaper rice and help offset the dwindling supply of commercial rice varieties.
Hectin said the additional rice was from the imported stocks of some 100,000 bags from Thailand that arrived two weeks ago at the Makar port here.
Out of the total allocation, he said the city and Sarangani province received an augmentation of 25,000 bags.
Some 20,000 bags were allotted for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the remaining 55,000 bags would be shared by the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, he said.
Hectin said they completed last Sunday the unloading and transfer of the rice stocks to their warehouses.
“We already started the distribution of the additional stocks to our accredited rice retailers,” he said in a radio interview.
NFA rice is sold at P32 per kilo for the 15 percent broken grains and P27 per kilo for the 25 percent broken grains.
The prices of commercial rice here and in nearby Sarangani currently range from P47 to P55 per kilo, depending on the variety.
Hectin said they increased the number of accredited rice retailers for the area this month from 135 to 141, with each receiving an allocation of 10 bags per week.
With the arrival of the additional imported rice, he said their buffer stocks were projected to last until the start of the palay harvest season next month.
“We expect the prices of commercial rice to stabilize with the entry of fresh harvests in the markets,” he said. (PNA)
