THE National Food Authority (NFA) has increased the rice allocation to Bigasang Bayan outlets as a measure to help consumers cope with the increase in price of commercial rice in the market.
Nestor Alcoseba, provincial manager of NFA in Cebu, said from 100 sacks of rice they have increased the maximum allocation to 200 sacks.
“This is what we normally do during lean months, we do not immediately flood the market with NFA rice, little by little we release more supplies to maintain balance in the market,” Alcoseba said.
He said that the participation of NFA in the market is only 10 to 15 percent.
“It’s actually a private sector’s world and we are only here in times that we need to come in, just like during lean months,” Alcoseba said.
He said that if consumers can no longer afford the price of commercial rice, they can always buy NFA rice. He assures the consumers that there is enough supply in the market.
He also said that NFA rice can already compete with the commercial rice in terms of quality. NFA rice is well-milled rice coming from Vietnam, mixed with 25 percent broken rice.
“We have to change our perception. We have good quality NFA rice with a price that is very affordable compared to commercial rice,” Alcoseba said. /Correspondent Carine M. Asutilla