NFA assures ample rice supply

MANILA, Philippines – The National Food Authority (NFA) on Thursday assured that it has sufficient rice stocks amid the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The state-owned grains agency said it has begun transferring some 2.22 million bags or 111,206 metric tons (MT) of rice to the National Capital Region from nearby rice-producing regions.

This is to ensure that the metropolis would have an adequate rice sufficiency level.

The government has placed NCR under “community quarantine” in a bid to contain and curb the spread of COVID-19.

NFA Administrator Judy Carol Dansal said there are 450,000 bags of rice currently available in Metro Manila, good for 40 days, considering that the NFA’s market participation is pegged at 10 percent.

This does not include stocks in the households and the commercial sector yet.

Data from the Bureau of Plant Industry showed there are also roughly 379,000 MT of rice that entered the country as of March 6, 2020.

On the whole, the country’s rice inventory is estimated at 2.14 million MT, which is enough to meet Filipinos’ daily rice consumption for 66 days.

Of that volume, government rice stock is at 481,800 MT, or equivalent to 15 days of the country’s rice consumption requirement.

The NFA is currently fast-tracking the repositioning of the staple in different areas of the country.

Under the law, the NFA is mandated to maintain a sufficient level of rice buffer to primarily cater to emergency and calamity operations.

It continues to sell rice through disaster and relief operations response outlets, private authorized distributors, and other government agencies.

GSG