In Nueva Ecija, rice harvest good, grain prices high

CABANATUAN CITY — Rice harvest this month in Nueva Ecija province is bountiful and the high farm gate prices have been good for farmers as well.

Serafin Santos, provincial agriculturist, said the average yield was 7 metric tons, or 140 cavans a hectare, although many farmers had reported harvesting more than 220 cavans. Each cavan weighs 50 kilograms.

Santos attributed the bounty to good weather and good seeds “and the fact that farmers have infused more science in their rice production ventures.”

He said farmers planted in 162,000 ha, 20,000 ha more than the usual planting area in the province during the dry planting period.

Farm gate price

“The farm gate price is comparatively high even when it is already the peak season for harvesting. It ranges from P19.50 to P20.20 a kg,” he said.

Farmers last benefited from high palay farm gate price three years ago but it went down drastically.

“We cannot say this farm gate price will remain steady till the end of the last week of April. It’s because the buying price of palay is not stable,” Santos said, due in part to a public misreading of the dwindling stocks of the National Food Authority (NFA).

The selling price of milled rice in Nueva Ecija is P39 a kg.

NFA rice is priced lower than commercial rice and helps stabilize prices. But it has not been able to buy local rice due to low purchasing ceiling, Santos said, adding that the NFA request to import rice has been blocked by some government officials until stocks have run out.

Reports said rice importation had been approved and the first shipments would arrive in May or June. —ANSELMO ROQUE