MORE NEWS, PANGASINAN

No rice shortage in Pangasinan,says NFA
By Jennelyn Mondejar

BINALONAN, Pangasinan – "There is no rice shortage in Pangasinan," the provincial office of the National Food Authority said. The assurance was made by NFA Provincial Manager Nicanor S. Rosario in the wake of reports of a looming rice crisis.

Manager Rosario said surveys conducted by his office indicated plenty of household and commercial stocks which comprise the bulk of the grains supply. Besides, he said, the second-crop harvest is coming in the next few days, and this would further augment the rice inventory on hand, he said. He attributed the increase in rice prices to the continued escalation of palay prices resulting from the rising cost of farm inputs.

Palay prices now range from P16 to P17 per kilo. The rule of thumb in business is to have the price of rice at R28 to R30 per kilo for the producers to break even. Government rice is currently priced at P18.25 per kilo. But commercial rice prices are not regulated, and this was started more than two decades ago when the free market was allowed in the grains business. So, the law of supply and demand determines the prices of commercial rice.

*As such, the NFA has no control of the fluctuation in prices of commercial rice. As a matter of policy, the NFA is now focusing on its pro-poor program and supply stabilization by direct-market intervention, if necessary, Rosario said. Its pro-poor projects include the "food for school" program which is being implemented in cooperation with DepEd and DSWD.

Other pro-poor undertakings are the Tindahan Natin and Parokya stores. Meanwhile, the provincial NFA Office in Eastern Pangasinan is conducting the revalidation of its "Bigasan ni Gloria sa Palengke" outlets to weed out erring operators and ensure that intended beneficiaries of the low-priced, good-quality government rice are served.

The NFA office is likewise conducting the delivery of rice allocation to its BGP outlets to preclude diversion. Regarding rice inventory, the NFA office in Eastern Pangasinan has in its warehouse more than 100,000 bags of rice with more stocks coming early next month. This is made possible with the arrival of another vessel of imported rice to be unloaded at Poro Point in San Fernando City, La Union. Rosario assured that NFA will continue to intensify its programs with a new theme, "Kabalikat laban sa Kahirapan."