00:00Higher prices do not automatically mean bad news for consumers, especially if they covered bump-up numbers covering the cost of production of palay or unhused rice grains.
00:11A higher farm-gate price of palay coupled with government's moratorium on rice imports and the expanded distribution of 20 pesos a kilo of rice spells great relief and hope for the spine-of-the-nation sector, as our Merivelle Custodio reports.
00:26Robert is one of the rice retailers of imported rice. That's why he's among those who will be affected by the looming import ban in September.
00:46Unlike other rice retailers who are already bulk-ordering imported rice in preparation for the ban, Robert's strategy is different.
00:55To recall, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has already given a directive for an import ban on rice, anticipating the harvest season next month.
01:15This move will also help ensure that palay is purchased at fair prices.
01:19We're expecting yung farm-gate to maas, pero yung retail price, hindi masyadong tatas kasi andaming ang bigas na pumasok.
01:28Plus, we have record harvest no first semester. Plus, we're also expecting record harvest for the wet season.
01:36So, ibig sabihin, maraming palay at bigas in circulation sa atin na hindi magkukos ng sudden surges sa presyo ng bigas.
01:46Based on the latest monitoring of the Department of Agriculture, or DA, dried palay is being bought up to P21 pesos per kilo, while wet palay is priced at around P17 pesos per kilo.
01:57The government is also continuing to distribute drying facilities so that farmers can sell their harvest at a higher value.
02:04Meanwhile, nearly 70 metric tons, or 70,000 kilos of P20 pesos rice, were sold to farmers in first three days of the expanded rollout of the program Bente Pigas Meron Na.
02:15This was initially launched at NFA warehouses in Cagayan region, the Cordillera Administrative region, and Central Luzon last week.
02:23Meanwhile, fisher folks who are enlisted in Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture, or RSBSA, will also be eligible buyers for the P20 pesos per kilo rice targeted this month.
02:34The program will be rolled out in fish ports registered with Philippine Fisheries Development Authority.
02:39Vel Custodio for the National TV Network for a new and better Philippines.
