CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija-National Food Authority (NFA) assured that Central Luzon, the country’s rice granary, has sufficient supply of the staple until end of 2013.
“Our buffer stock stands at 1.77 million bags which is good to last in the remaining four months of the year,” NFA Regional Director Amadeo De Guzman emphasized.
This pronouncement was made in the wake of reports indicating that increasing prices in the region is due to the tight supply brought about by lean months, hinting a possible rise crisis in Central Luzon.
“Lean months, which starts late June and ends early September is the traditional planting season for farmers. Hence, we expect no harvest that is why supply of commercial rice dwindles and prices soar ranging from P36 to P42 per kilogram,” De Guzman explained.
To mitigate the effects of such, NFA intervenes by releasing a greater volume of its P28 per kilogram rice through its accredited distribution outlets.
The food agency likewise deploys Palengke Watch teams to monitor, on a daily basis, the actual situation in public markets and to check on the operation of authorized retailers.
“The government’s market intervention in Central Luzon was able to prevent the prices of commercial rice from increasing at unreasonable levels during the lean month period. We expect supply and prices of commercial to normalize with the onset of the main cropping harvest season as palay deliveries from the provinces started arriving at the Intercity in Bocaue, Bulacan which is one of the biggest rice trading center in the entire Luzon island,” De Guzman disclosed.
NFA calls on consumers to be vigilant by reporting any irregularities in the market situation by calling telephone numbers (044) 600-2539 or 958-0142 or by sending an email via nfaclro@yahoo.com. (Carlo Lorenzo J. Datu)
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