MANILA – A ranking National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) official said the government is currently evaluating a proposal to offer subsidized rice only in areas where it is badly needed.
This, after Republic Act (RA) 11203, or the Rice Liberalization Act, removed the regulatory and import licensing functions of the National Food Authority (NFA) and instead mandated the agency to maintain the country’s emergency buffer stock that will solely be sourced from local farmers.
NEDA assistant secretary Mercedita Sombilla, in a briefing, said NFA rice could be released on a targeted basis instead of being made available nationwide, as is currently the case.
She explained that although price of NFA rice may likely go up by around P2 or P3 per kilo from the current P27 a kilo “I don’t think we will allow NFA to put it at a price wherein they would cover their profits.”
“What we are trying to do is for NFA to really sell it at a price that they will not be shortchanged. But for households and beneficiaries that really need the rice for a very low price then the government will keep on subsidizing the rice,” she said.
Sombilla said they have not determined what areas will be covered by this policy, noting that this depends on several factors like vulnerability to calamities, population and proportion of households in those areas.
Before RA 11203 was signed into law, the country was using the maximum access volume (MAV) as system for importing rice.
Now, businessmen are allowed to import rice freely but the imports will be subjected to tariff and a Sanitary and Phytosanitory Import Clearance must first be secured from the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI).
Determining how much rice buffer is needed is still under study but authorities have said that the optimal level is for an inventory enough to accommodate the country’s requirements for 15 to 30 days.
The buffer will be primarily distributed during disaster relief programs but the rice supply can also be sold to the public before the grain’s quality deteriorates. (PNA)
