00:00It is not expected that there will be additional options for those who will choose to buy cheaper rice.
00:05This is because the NFA in Metro Manila has already started selling rice.
00:11The LGUs are happy.
00:13And it is not only those who will choose who will benefit from it,
00:16but also the farmers.
00:18Clay Zalfardia, in Seto ng Balita, live.
00:24The unique target of the Department of Agriculture
00:27is to increase the price of rice.
00:30That is why next week,
00:32the DA will meet with the Metro Manila Council
00:36to stop the sale of NFA rice to local governments.
00:43The Department of Agriculture is now stopping the mechanism
00:47for the sale of NFA rice to local governments.
00:51The Department of Agriculture said
00:54it will not only help the LGUs to have rice in times of calamity or emergency,
01:02it will also reduce the price of rice in the markets.
01:06The LGUs will sell NFA rice to their residents for P38 per kilo.
01:13It is cheaper than reaching P65 per kilo of rice in the market.
01:18It can still bring down the price
01:22because the more rice available, the cheaper it is.
01:24300,000 bags of rice are ready to be sold by the National Food Authority.
01:30According to the NFA,
01:32the rice is considered non-regular or stocked.
01:36More than two months have passed since it was imbacked in the warehouse,
01:39but the quality is still good.
01:41The NFA wants the agency's supply to be released quickly
01:46so that their warehouses can be expanded
01:48and the rice that will be imbacked during harvest season will be better.
01:54We have experienced some branches and warehouses
01:58where we can't really receive a lot of rice
02:03because we don't have time to store it.
02:05After a month, let's say next month,
02:08that whole, almost 700,000 bags of rice,
02:14it will be considered as two months and above
02:17that can be disposed as an aging stock.
02:19The NFA's fund is at P15 billion
02:23for the purchase of local rice this year.
02:26It will be used as a buffer stock during harvest season.
02:32According to the National Food Authority,
02:35this year, three rice processing plants will be built.
02:39Some of them will be completed in the third to fourth quarter of 2024.
02:46These rice processing facilities will help
02:48because it will contain rice grinders
02:52and dryers that will dry the rice of the farmers.
02:56This means that the NFA can buy more bags
03:01of important wet rice
03:04because the farmers are having a hard time drying it,
03:08especially during the last months of the year when it rains.
03:13Angelique?
03:14Giselle, won't the NFA's buffer stock decrease
03:19if they sell rice to the market again?
03:26Angelique Pinietta, National Food Authority,
03:28they still have enough buffer stock
03:30because they sold 300,000 bags of rice
03:36but they still have 400,000
03:40because they sold 700,000 bags of rice
03:43for the total inventory of the NFA.
03:46And if the local rice of the farmers enters,
03:51the NFA will surely grow
03:53and there will be enough inventory of buffer stock.
03:58In 2024, the accomplishment rate of the National Food Authority
04:01will be around 95%.
04:05That's why, for now, the NFA's warehouse is full.
04:09Angelique?
04:10Okay, but I would like to thank you, Claes, for coming.
