The rice retailers in different parts of the country are complaining about the rice price hike. As the rice price shoot up, they do not have a choice but to sell the product also at a higher price. Rice prices increased from P60 to P100 per sack.
Federation of Central Luzon Farmers Corp. said that the rice price hike is due the high priced rice that is being distributed to the market places which are controlled by big-time rice processors, millers, and importers.
National Food Authority's buffer stock is still low to assure that there will be no rice shortage in the country. NFA said that so far there are no price hike on rice wholesale as of the moment. The agency also said that there is sufficient rice and price hikes in rice retail is only P1 per kilo.
However, NFA requested that they would be allowed to import 250 metric tons of rice from Vietnam and Thailand. Their buffer stock is only good for less than 15 days, meaning they cannot release enough rice to regulate the price during rainy season where there are no local harvests of rice.
Agriculture secretary Manny Piñol said that he already informed President Rodrigo Duterte that it is possible to import rice now as the harvest season has ended.
President Duterte has stopped rice importation due to the competition with the local rice. He even fired Undersecretary Maia Chiara Halmen Reina Valdez for contradicting with the NFA mandate to suspend rice importation during harvest season.
Rice is a staple food for Filipinos and the rising cost of it will mean big for every citizen. Large chunk of every family's earning goes to the budget on food. High cost of rice could be an additional burden for the minimum wage earners and for those who are earning below the minimum wage rates.
Source: ABS-CBN
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