By Hilda Austria/ PNA NEWS
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — The National Food Authority (NFA) Western and Eastern Pangasinan branches will soon distribute rice allocation to retailers in the province following the arrival in La Union of 90,000 bags of imported rice from Thailand last week.
NFA-Western Pangasinan assistant branch manager Chona Maramba, in an interview on Friday, said some 1,000 bags of rice were already delivered to their warehouse as their delivery truck continues to collect from La Union since last week.
“As soon as the number of the total allocation is completed in our warehouse, we will begin distributing to our retailers,” she said.
NFA-Western Pangasinan suspended its supply of rice to retailers November last year due to the low amount of buffer stock in its warehouse and the absence of delivery at that time.
Nonetheless, Maramba assured that there is sufficient supply of commercial rice in the market since the province is one of the rice producers in the country.
“But we continue to supply to the island barangays through the Tagpuan Rice Delivery Response Program of the NFA, where the agency brings to the intended beneficiaries the rice supply and also the indigenous people in the far flung areas in the province,” she explained.
The NFA also allocates rice supply to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facilities in Western Pangasinan.
Pangasinan’s NFA rice provision is part of the 200,000 bags of imported rice for Region 1 (Ilocos), which recently arrived in Poro Point, La Union from Thailand.
Ilocos Sur also has 20,000 bags allocation; Ilocos Norte has 17,000 bags; Benguet has 30,000 bags; and Abra with 8,000 bags.
In a report, NFA Ilocos regional director Jaime Hadlocon said Region 1 has a total of 1.9 million bags of rice allocation this year.
