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[av_heading heading=’Higher commercial buying price benefits Negrense rice farmers’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Sunday, May 21, 2017
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BACOLOD City – Rice farmers in Negros Occidental were benefiting from the higher buying price offered by traders, according to the National Food Authority (NFA).
The buying prices of palay in the province ranged from P19 to P22 per kilogram as of Thursday last week compared to the NFA support price of only P17.70 per kilogram.
“(For now), rice producers have no problem in terms of buyers, we let them gain from higher buying prices of the private sector,” said Marianito Bejemino, provincial manager of NFA-Negros Occidental.
With the lower support price of the government, the NFA could not just buy paddy rice from farmers although they were expected to sell their produce to the NFA when commercial buying prices go down, most probably lower than PHP17 per kilogram.
Agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol previously said that with the President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement to defer rice importation, the buying price of paddy rice has gone to as high as P21 per kilogram, or an increase of between P7 and P9 per kilogram of the previous seasons.
Bejemino said that amid the huge inventory and existing stocks for the coming lean months, the NFA was still willing to buy paddy rice as long as the buying price would not exceed the government support price.
He added that the NFA could immediately come in if commercial traders would no longer buy with higher prices.
Bejemino also said Negros Occidental had enough rice supply for the coming lean months, or a period of no harvest particularly of palay.
Iloilo and other provinces in Panay are currently supplying Negros Occidental with its requirement for the lean period, which will start in the later part of June towards September.
Bejemino said Iloilo has started delivering some 40,000 bags to Negros Occidental since the first week of May.
These stocks are part of the 180,000 bags to be fully delivered to the province this month, he added. (PNA/PN)
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