Enough supply of NFA rice until next harvest
season, say Palace
There is enough supply of National Food
Authority (NFA) rice until the next harvest season, a Palace official said on
Sunday.
Presidential Communication Operations Office
Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr., said in a press briefing over radio station
dzRB Radyo ng Bayan that there is 2.4 million metric tons of NFA rice in
supply.
“Ito ay sapat para sa susunod na 72 araw o
hanggang sa unang linggo ng Setyembre na kung kailan inaasahan ang resulta ng
unang pag-ani o harvest season,” said Coloma.
He argued that there should be no reason for the
prices of NFA rice, whether well-milled or regular milled, to rise and anyone
found manipulating its value will be dealt with severely.
“Ayon sa NFA, we are advising the public that
they will implement the full force of the law on those who divert, hoard, and
overprice government or NFA rice,” said Coloma.
The price of the regular milled rice is P27 per
kilo while the well-milled rice is at P32 per kilo.
The Communications Secretary gave an update on
the importation of an estimated 800,000 metric tons of rice.
"Ang update mula sa NFA: Nai-deliver at
natanggap na ang 193,000 metric tons bago magtapos ang Hunyo. May karagdagang
delivery na 274,250 metric tons at sa buwan ng Agosto ay ang balanseng 332,350
metric tons. Nagbigay ng abiso ang NFA sa mga supplier na tingnan ang
posibilidad na mapabilis o mapaaga ang delivery,” said Coloma.
Coloma also reported the outcome of the meeting
of the National Price Coordinating Council last June 18, where all the stakeholders
came up with a program called "Dagdag Alokasyon, Dagdag Outlet,
Dagdag-Bantay, at Walang Pagtataas ng Presyo" or DDDW.
“Unang-una, Dagdag Alokasyon. Increase of
allocation from 12,500 bags per day to 25,000 bags per day—doble na po. Ang
ikalawa ay dagdag outlet from 1,018 to 1,120 outlets. Initially ay 10 percent
increase para isama na rito ‘yung mga talipapa at mga smaller market. At ang
pangatlong ‘D’ ‘yung dagdag bantay. Increase in monitoring teams at ‘yung
paghimok sa ating mga kababayan na i-ulat o i-report sa NFA sa pamamagitan ng
kanilang operations center sa teleponong 454-1214…At ang ikaapat ay Walang
Pagtataas ng Presyo ang NFA rice,” Coloma explained.
The National Price Coordinating Council is made
up of the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Health, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Interior and Local Government,
Department of Transportation and Communications, Department of Justice,
Department of Energy, National Economic Development Authority, and one
representative each from the consumers’ sector, agricultural producers’ sector,
trading sector, and manufacturers’ sector. PND (ag)
Food prices to stabilize, says Malacanang
Malacanang said on Sunday that food prices are
expected to stabilize as factors that affect its increase have started to
normalize.
In a press conference over radio station dzRD
Radyo ng Bayan, Presidential Communication Operations Office Secretary Herminio
Coloma, Jr., said the meeting of the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC)
last week disclosed reasons for the increase of prices of sugar, pork, poultry,
garlic, and other food staples.
Coloma said the Sugar Regulatory Administration
during the meeting reported that prices of sugar reached as high as P52 per
kilo, but after the agency started their monitoring it is now down to P49 and
they issued a suggested retail price (SRP) of P50 per kilo.
The hog raisers reported that there were cases
of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) in the country that affected the piglets,
adding that these cases of PED were now under control with vaccinations being
administered, and prices are expected to
improve.
“Nag-request po ang mga hog raisers na huwag
namang masyadong pababaan ang mga presyo para naman ma-recover din nila ‘yung
kanilang mga losses. So sinusubaybayan po ito,” Coloma said.
Poultry raisers reported that the high
temperature last summer affected the growth of chickens that resulted to prices
ranging to P130 to P140 per kilo.
“Ibig sabihin mababa ang kanilang timbang kaya
ito po ang isa sa mga sanhi ng temporary shortage. Pero nag-i-improve na rin po
ang supply situation at sa kasalukuyan ang umiiral ay 90 percent locally
supplied chickens ang ating ginagamit,” Coloma explained.
For their part, the Department of Agriculture
(DA) reported that garlic prices increased since we primarily imported garlic
from abroad. Coloma said to counter the garlic price hike, the said agency
deployed rolling stores around Metro Manila to sell local garlic at P100 to
P200 per kilo depending on its size.
Coloma assured the public that the government is
monitoring everything, including other factors that affect the prices.
“Isa po sa mga factor din na tinitingnan ay
‘yung epekto ng truck ban. Pero tinitingnan po kung paano kaagad ito
mareremedyohan dahil hindi naman dapat ito maging sanhi ng pagtaas ng presyo.
Kaya sa kabuuan ay masinsing tinututukan ng pamahalaan ang galaw ng supply at
presyo sa lahat ng mga pangunahing food items,” the Communications Secretary
noted. PND (ag)
