The Department of Agriculture (DA) confirmed that the National Food Authority (NFA) is expanding its palay procurement efforts to boost the country’s rice buffer stocks. Agriculture Secretary and NFA Council chair Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. noted that increased government buying creates positive ripple effects across the entire rice industry. For the upcoming wet harvest season, the NFA will raise its minimum palay purchase price from P17 to P21 per kilogram, to help farmers offset rising production costs, maintain planting activity ahead of the projected El Niño, and secure sufficient domestic rice supply. This builds on the existing Price Range Scheme launched in April 2024, where clean dry palay is bought at P23 to P30 per kg and wet palay has a base rate of P23 per kg, with the P17 rate previously applying as the minimum for fresh wet palay.
The program has yielded strong results: the NFA acquired 443,620 metric tons of palay in 2024, benefiting 60,612 farmers, followed by 420,013 MT in 2025 that reached 72,776 farmers nationwide. “Buying more palay at fair, competitive rates raises farmer earnings while securing rice for Filipino households. Supporting rice farmers is the foundation of long-term food security,” Tiu Laurel said. He added that official purchases have also pushed private traders to offer better rates, giving farmers more leverage during harvest.
To support procurement, the NFA has leased 65 warehouses across the country to place buying points nearer remote farming areas, and opened a P355.4 million modern grains facility in Dumangas, Iloilo to improve drying, milling and storage capacity. By November 2025, state rice reserves reached 460,731 MT—well above the mandatory 300,000 MT buffer requirement. NFA Administrator Larry Lacson emphasized that adequate stocks are increasingly vital amid worsening climate risks, allowing quick response to typhoons, floods and other disasters, ensuring supply for government food programs and reinforcing national food security. Higher stock levels also help sustain the government’s P20-per-kg rice initiative. The NFA continues upgrading its storage network, with one new warehouse completed, 35 under construction and 89 rehabilitation projects finished.
Based on DA’s July 25 price monitoring for Metro Manila, rice outside the P20 program is priced at P48 per kg for local well-milled rice and P45 per kg for regular-milled local rice. Imported well-milled rice also sells at P48 per kg, while special and premium imported varieties cost P60 and P50 per kg respectively. Special local rice is at P60 per kg and premium local rice at P55 per kg.
