The decision of the National Food Authority (NFA) Council to raise the palay buying price has allowed the agency to exponentially increase its palay inventory in only a month.
On 11 April, the NFA Council raised the procurement price per kilo of palay from P23 to P30 for clean and dry palay from P19 to P23 while the buying price for fresh and wet increased from P17 to P23 instead of P16 to P19 originally. This allowed NFA to compete with private traders in order to build its buffer stock. NFA started buying palay at higher prices beginning 17 April.
The last time palay buying price increased was in September 2023.
During Monday’s NFA council meeting, the NFA reported that since the approval of the higher buying price for palay, the agency has procured an additional 2.41 million 50-kilo bags as of 15 May. Between 1 January to 15 April, the NFA procured only a total 142,244 bags of palay.
“The new price scheme is really the game changer,” NFA acting administrator Larry Lacson said. “I think the NFA Council’s strong understanding of NFA’s challenges has resulted in stronger collaboration. We thank Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. and the Council for this,” he added.
In all, a total 2.5 million bags of palay was procured between 1 January and 15 May, representing 82.76 percent of the 3.08 million target for the period.
“We’re still aiming to hit that target since there are other areas like Bulacan where farmers haven’t completed their rice harvest,” said Lacson. “Farmers I spoke to are very happy with this initiative of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to help farmers increase their income.”
As of 15 May, the volume of milled rice has reached a total 111,720 metric tons, or 14.6 percent higher for the same period last year. He said the rice stocks would have been higher if not for withdrawals to help El Nino-affected areas.
