THE government yesterday said it has started procuring palay at higher prices to boost the country’s buffer stocks and farmers’ income.
The National Food Authority (NFA) Council raised the buying price for fresh or wet palay at P17 to P23 from P16 to P19 per kilo, while clean and dry is now at P23 to P30 from P19 to P23 per kilo.
“This new pricing scheme will mark a new era for NFA palay buying,” said NFA acting administrator Larry Lacson.
He added: “This is unique in a sense that different provinces will have different prices depending on the conditions in the province such as prevailing farm gate price, remaining harvest, and most importantly the target palay procurement for the area.”
The NFA said it retired the single pricing system to consider the support price provided by some local government units “to help improve farmers’ income by being a viable alternative to private traders.”
The agency noted that the rice tariffication law removed rice trading responsibilities from the NFA, which can do buffer stocking to ensure rice supply during disasters and calamities.
That law requires the NFA to maintain a stock of around 300,000 tons of rice, which the agency said is enough for nine days of consumption.
“The NFA Council had to raise buying prices for palay after prolonged high farm gate prices persisted to secure supply,” the NFA said. (ABS-CBN News)
