NFA sees rice sales to government agencies supplementing funding for procurement

THE National Food Authority (NFA) said higher revenue from rice sales to government agencies is expected to add to its procurement budget for palay or unmilled rice.

In a statement, NFA acting Administrator Larry R. Lacson said: “The additional revenue from our sales to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will allow us to buy an additional 400,000 50-kilo bags of palay. That’s easily 12,600 metric tons (MT) of incremental rice supply.”

The NFA is tasked with maintaining an emergency  reserve of rice from palay purchased from domestic farmers.

Last month, the NFA Council approved a new price of P38 per kilogram for rice sales to the DSWD and other government agencies, including local government units. The previous price had been P25 per kilo.

“The additional revenue from our sales to DSWD will allow us to buy an additional 400,000 50-kilo bags of palay. That’s easily 12,600 metric tons (MT) of incremental rice supply,” Mr. Lacson added.

He said that the higher selling price to government agencies will have no impact on the market price of the grain.

The NFA said the revenue boost from government sales is estimated at P557.3 million for 2024.

“The higher selling price agreed to by the DSWD will help not only reduce NFA losses but also give it additional resources to buy more palay from our farmers,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said.

In the first half, the NFA paid P5.3 billion to purchase 175,000 MT of palay, equivalent to 3.5 million bags.

The NFA Council has also approved a wet season ceiling price of P30 per kilo for palay purchases, against P23 per kilo previously. It plans to buy between 6.4 million to 8.7 million bags of palay before the end of the year, equivalent to 435,000 MT of palay. — Adrian H. Halili