THE National Food Authority (NFA) recorded a higher rice inventory in May following its decision to raise palay (unmilled rice) buying prices.
Since the approval of the higher buying price, the NFA has purchased 2.41 million 50-kilo bags as of May 15. This is higher than the 142,244 bags between January 1 and April 15.
"I think the NFA Council's strong understanding of NFA's challenges has resulted in stronger collaboration. We thank Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. and the Council for this," NFA acting administrator Larry Lacson said.
He added that the new price scheme is "really the game changer."
Last month, the NFA Council raised the procurement price per kilo of palay to P23 to P30 for clean and dry palay from P19 to P23.
Meanwhile, the buying price for fresh and wet increased to P17 to P23 from P16 to P19, respectively.
This measure has allowed the NFA to compete with private traders and build up its buffer stock. NFA started buying palay at higher prices on April 17.
As of the start of the year, a total of 2.5 million bags of palay have been procured by the agency. This represents 82.76 percent of the 3.08-million target for the period.
"We're still aiming to hit that target since there are other areas like Bulacan where farmers haven't completed their rice harvest," said Lacson. He added that farmers are also happy with the initiative.
As of May 15, the NFA said that its volume of milled rice has reached a total of 111,720 metric tons (MT), up 14.6 percent from the same period last year. Lacson said the rice stocks would have been higher if not for disbursements for assistance to El Niño-affected areas.
Last week, the NFA asked for a procurement budget worth P16.3 billion for next year to purchase target rice stocks and upgrade storage capacity.
Under the Rice Tariffication Law, NFA is mandated to maintain a buffer stock equivalent to about 9 days of national rice consumption.
The NFA receives an allotment worth P9 billion for palay procurement, with an assumed procurement price at a maximum of P23 a kilo.
Under the DA's proposed budget in 2025, the NFA is to receive P24.85 billion, a 77-percent increase from this year's budget of P14.03 billion.
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