The National Food Authority (NFA) will resume next week its palay procurement in Central Luzon.
The agency announced this over the weekend after farmers in Central Luzon, particularly Bulacan province, requested the NFA to resume its palay procurement amid the low prices being offered by traders in the province.
The buying prices of traders went down to as low as P11.50/kg., which was below the estimated farmers’ production cost of P12/kg. to P14/kg, the NFA said.
To help the farmers with the remaining harvest, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said he has ordered the immediate disposal of 5,000 bags to free up warehouse spaces in San Ildefonso town.
"Until the weekend, we can accommodate all farmers lining up, up to 5,000 bags. I said send us their feedback and look carefully into it for us to at least secure ways to help, for us to buy from farmers," he said.
Some farmers have chosen to store their harvest to wait for NFA to free up warehouse spaces.
The average buying price of NFA is set at P18/kg. of fresh palay and P24/kg. of clean and dry palay, much higher than traders’ pricing.
As of May 20, the NFA has secured 8.24 million 50-kg bags of milled rice for the country’s national rice buffer stock, which will be sufficient for 11 days.