THE buying public has to stretch their budget as the prices of rice, especially of commercial variety, continue to increase little-by-little this days.

A businesswoman, who requested anonymity, said the price of commercial rice has started increasing since the National Food Authority (NFA) stopped flooding the market with cheap variety of rice.

Valentine's 2009 blog

She said that from as low as P25 a kilo, the price of commercial rice has slowly increased to as high as P39 a kilo these days.

Most, if not all, of the rice varieties are coming from nearby provinces and other parts of the country since Zamboanga City's production is not sufficient to meet the demand of the residents.

NFA Assistant Regional Director in Western Mindanao Rolando Maravilla said they still supply rice to the local market but not as intensive as before when the production of commercial rice was low.

Maravilla said they are distributing the Vietnam variety of rice, which is sold at P30 a kilo, to the local market.

He said the cheap variety, which is sold at P18.25 a kilo, is being distributed to the Tindahan Natin (TN) outlets in the villages.

The TN outlets cater to the rice needs of the poorest of the poor, Maravilla said. (Bong Garcia)