BACOLOD City – The National Food Authority (NFA) in Negros Occidental has yet to distribute around 129,000 bags of government rice in the province.
The remaining buffer stocks set for release until August is still part of the import allocation from Myanmar and Vietnam, said NFA provincial manager Frisco Canoy on Thursday.
“We have not received new instructions from the central office about the distribution of the remaining buffer stocks. Unless there is an order to stop the distribution, then we will continue to do so,” said Canoy.
He noted the NFA has programmed the distribution at 30,000 to 35,000 bags of P27 per kilogram rice to at least 160 accredited outlets every month.
Canoy said the demand for NFA rice in the local markets has remained steady as accredited retailers still fully sell their respective allocations.
“We have noted that some imported rice sold in the market still cost up to PHP35 per kilo thus, consumers still opt to buy the P27 per kilo of NFA rice,” he said.
Last Dec. 30, a total of 79,000 bags from Vietnam arrived at the Bredco in this capital city. Also, 160,000 bags of rice from Myanmar were shipped to Negros Occidental in November.
Canoy said that after all the rice stocks are distributed, they will concentrate on buffer stocking mainly for emergencies and calamities. (With a report from PNA/PN)
