THE National Food Authority (NFA) Council has increased its procurement price per kilogram of palay in a bid to boost the agency’s buffer stock and make it more competitive in the market.
At a press briefing yesterday, Department of Agriculture (DA) assistant secretary and spokesperson Arnel de Mesa announced that the NFA Council approved the new buying prices for dry and clean and fresh palay.
De Mesa said the new buying price for dry and clean palay ranges between P23 to P30 per kilo from the previous P19 to P23 per kilo, while for fresh palay the procurement price range was upgraded to P17 to P23 per kilo from P16 to P19 per kilo.
“Ang nabibili ng NFA ngayon ay talagang kokonti,” de Mesa said.
The DA official said that the national farm-gate price average stands at P26.9 per kilo, while the NFA’s buying price was only at a maximum of P23 per kilo.
“Talagang wala siyang mabibili or very minimal so tinaasan nang kaunti para makahabol ang NFA doon sa presyo na ino-offer ng traders sa ngayon,” added de Mesa.
In its February 2024 report, the NFA said it procured 12,378 bags of palay, or the equivalent to 618.9 metric tons (MT) of the grain, during the month.
This was a measly 2.28% of the grains agency’s target of 542,800 bags or 27,140 MT of palay for the period.
“Decrease in procurement is due to lesser palay harvest, since February is not a harvest season hence the procured palay is just a spillover of the last cropping season,” the NFA said in its report.
NFA officer-in-charge administrator Larry Lacson said that the agency is facing difficulties in procuring palay during the harvest, noting that traders are outbidding them by buying the grain at higher prices than it offers.
Lacson also expressed confidence that with the adjusted palay buying price ranges, the NFA can increase its buffer stock in time for the tail end of the harvest season.
“With this price range given to us by the council, we are confident that in areas where harvesting is still ongoing we can procure many,” the NFA chief said.
Lacson said that the NFA’s buying price of palay will be different “on a per province basis” as the agency will seek to make a competing offer based on the prevailing farm-gate price in each province. (GMA Integrated News)
