NFA starts buying palay at higher prices

A volunteer arranges sacks of NFA rice at the relief repacking station of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Pasay City on Monday, December 18, 2017, as they rush food aid for the victims of typhoon Urduja.

The National Food Authority has started buying palay at higher prices, after being outbid by traders as it sought approval from the NFA Council to adjust its buying price range.

According to Dano Tingcungco’s report on 24 Oras, on Monday the NFA started buying palay from farmers at prices ranging from P17 to P23 for fresh palay (up from P16 to P19), and P23 to P30 (up from P19 to P23) per kilo of clean and dry palay.

Earlier this month, NFA OIC Administrator Larry Lacson said the NFA was being outpaced by traders who bought palay at P25 to P27 per kilo, compared to the agency’s upper limit of P23 per kilo.

On April 11, the NFA Council finally agreed to raise the agency’s procurement price to make it more competitive in the market.

With the new price limit, the NFA can increase its buffer stock to one day’s worth of rice to nine days’ worth.

“It’s nationwide na namimili tayo ngayon starting this week. We’re hoping na marami tayong mabibili this week at kung meron pa, hanggang next week,” Lacson said.

(We are buying nationwide starting this week. We hope that we can buy a lot this week and, if there’s some rice life, through to next week.)

A farmers cooperative, however, feels that the NFA has left it a little late.

“Tatapos na ang anihan, marami sa mga traders nakalikom na iyan ng maraming stocks,” said Federation of Free Farmers Cooperatives national manager Raul Montemayor.

“So ang kwestiyon sa isip nila, ‘Tataasan ko pa ba ‘yung presyo ko para makuha ko pa ‘yung natitirang konti, at makalaban ang NFA, o medyo stand by muna ako, tutal marami na akong stock? E baka pag bumili pa ako ng mas mataas ngayon, tapos dumating later on yung mga murang imported, e baka malugi pa ako’.”

(The harvest is almost over, and many of the traders have already bought up a lot of stocks. So the question in their minds is, should I raise my prices too to get the remaining stocks and compete with the NFA, or should I stand by since I already have a lot of stock? What if I buy some more at the higher price, then cheaper imported rice arrives. I might end up with a loss.)

The NFA acknowledged that it would have been better if it had started buying palay earlier, but said it needed time to explain the situation to the NFA Council and receive its backing.

“Better late than never, di ba? Ang akin is makakahabol pa,” said the NFA’s Lacson. “Kami naman dahil buffer stocking lang, once we reach the target buffer stock, stop na kami.”

(Better late than never, right? As I see it, at least we can do some catching up. Once we’re just stocking up on buffer stocks, once we reach our target, we’ll stop.) — BM, GMA Integrated News

This article NFA starts buying palay at higher prices was originally published in GMA News Online.