The purchase limit of five kilograms of rice per person that the National Food Authority (NFA) has imposed will stay for now, NFA director Rex Estoperez said on Wednesday.
The NFA chief explained that this is because unloading the stocks of the cheap imported rice was hampered in some parts of the country by weather conditions.
“Sa Mindanao area, walang problema dahil walang bagyo dun. Dito sa Luzon areas, nagkaproblema tayo sa pagbaba (We don’t have problems in Mindanao because there was no typhoon there. But here in Luzon, we have flood problems),” he said in an interview on Radyo Inquirer 990.
Estoperez cited a ship that arrived in Luzon on June 4, but unloading the rice stock has not been completed to date.
An estimated 1 million bags have yet to be unloaded and distributed in Metro Manila, according to the NFA chief.
“So dapat [ipagpatuloy] ngayon kung maganda ang panahon po, patuloy tayo magbababa ng bigas (We need to continue unloading the stocks if the weather improves),” he noted, adding that the volume is also a factor in the slow pace of distribution since almost 250,000 metric tons of rice, estimated to be worth P5 million, has arrived in the country.
Another 250,000 metric tons of rice, which will serve as buffer stock, will be arriving by the end of July or by August, he added.
“Titignan po nating ‘yang volume na ‘yan kung makakapasok sa ating mga pamilihang bayan,” (Let’s check how soon the stock can be distributed to our public markets,” he said. — Kristine Anne Macasiray/INQUIRER.net Intern
READ: Duterte to DA: Increase NFA rice buffer stock, buy local grains