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Official Publication of the Philippine Information Agency Bicol Regional Office, in cooperation with the RIAC-REDIRAS - RDC Bicol



Thursday, September 12, 2013

Bicol has sufficient rice to last for 4 months- NFA

BY: JOSEPH JOHN J. PEREZ

LEGAZPI CITY, Sept. 12 (PIA) -- The National Food Authority (NFA) has assured the public that Bicol region has more than enough buffer stock of rice that can even last for four months in the wake of reported sudden increase of prices on rice varieties and scarcity of supply in the market.

“We have a total rice inventory of 650,952 bags to last for 120 days,” NFA Bicol regional information officer Nelsie Alcantara said in an interview during “Aramon Ta Daw (Let us Know)” radio program of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Bicol early this week.

Alcantara also assured the public that there is no rice hoarding in the region as a result of NFA’s regular meeting with the local rice traders to ensure that the retail price of rice in the normal level which is P27 per kilo and P33.50 to P36.50 for regular milled rice.

According to the latest NFA inventory of stocks, the buffer stock is derived from 214, 440 actual bags of rice including the 670,026 bags of palay based on 65% milling recovery.

“Camarines Sur, considered as Bicol’s rice granary, has a total stock of 198, 811bags,” Alcantara said. Albay follows with its 189,432 bags, Sorsogon with 103,309 bags, Masbate with 70,104, Camarines Norte with 49,453 and Catanduanes with 39,843 bags, NFA told the PIA.

“A buffer stock of 120,000 bags is also allocated in case of calamities,” Alcantara said. These stocks are allocated to Camarines Norte and Sorsogon with 15,000 bags each, Catanduanes and Masbate with 12,000 bags each. Albay has the most stocks pegged at 66,000 bags which are composed of imported rice from Vietnam. “There is no allocation for Camarines Sur since it is the highest rice producing province in the region,” Alcantara added.

In the latest NFA report, Bicol’s daily rice consumption requirement is 39,037 bags and the daily average sales regionwide is 5,412 bags. There are 2,350 NFA-accredited rice outlets scattered in the region, of which 314 are located in Albay, 157 in Camarines Norte, 429 in Camarines Sur, 742 in Catanduanes, 459 in Masbate and 249 in Sorsogon, the report says. “Outlets are allowed to implement a maximum P2 per kilo increase based on regular price,” Alcantara said.

The report also stated that NFA has 23 warehouses in the region most of these are located in Camarines Sur with 9, Sorsogon with 5, Albay with 4, Camarines Norte and Catanduanes with 2 each and Masbate has 1 NFA warehouse.”Our lone milling facility is located in Camarines Sur but we are augmented by our contracted millers,” Alcantara told the PIA.

NFA have 25 mechanical dryers in Bicol, again most of which are located in Camarines Sur with 9, Albay and Sorsogon have 5 each, Camarines Norte has 4 and Masbate has 2 mechanical dryers, the NFA report stated. (MAL/JJJP-PIA5/Albay)
- See more at: http://r05.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=2591378952860#sthash.3qnftRqd.dpuf

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