10,000 sacks of NFA rice arrive in Kidapawan City

KIDAPAWAN CITY— The arrival of some 10,000 sacks of cheap imported rice at the National Food Authority (NFA) warehouse here is expected to stabilize rice prices.

Robelito Campued, NFA assistant general manager in North Cotabato, said the rice shipment is part of the 40,000 sacks of NFA rice allocated to the North Cotabato province this year.

Campued said the new supply, which is the Vietnamese VAEW 81 variety, will be divided equally among 232 accredited rice retail stores in Kidapawan, Kabacan, and Midsayap towns.

“Consumers can already buy the NFA rice on Thursday at P27 and P32 per kilogram, which is way below the P49 to P52 per kilogram selling price of commercial rice in the market,” he said.

The NFA executive said, however, that each consumer could only buy a maximum of five kilos per day.

He explained that the rice from Vietnam is different from other varieties previously sold in the markets. “It is [the] VAEW 81 variety, harvested and milled this year,” he said.

The supply of cheap rice in North Cotabato would be good for another two months, he added. /ee