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MANILA, Philippines — Fearing that the decreasing of rice costs might have an effect on the earnings of native growers, a farmers’ group on Sunday urged the Division of Agriculture (DA) to “totally examine” its plan to declare a nationwide meals safety emergency.
In an announcement, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) stated that with the scheduled declaration of such an emergency on rice provide on Tuesday, the Nationwide Meals Authority (NFA) would have the ability to launch its shares, at present round 300,000 metric tons (MT) or six million baggage, for resale at below-market costs via native authorities models and Kadiwa shops.
Raul Montemayor, FFF nationwide supervisor, stated that “if NFA rice is bought at P38 per kilo, merchants—to stay aggressive—should purchase dry palay from farmers at P19 per kilo. At this value, most rice farmers will both break even or have little or no left after paying money owed and different bills.”
READ: Decrease retail costs of imported rice seen
He added that whereas the disposal of NFA rice shares would enable the company to decongest its warehouses and procure extra provides, its “P9-billion procurement fund for 2025 can take in simply 4 % of the palay output within the first semester alone.”
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“Moreover, few farmers truly handle to promote their palay to NFA as a result of they lack entry to dryers and postharvest services wanted to adjust to the company’s strict grain high quality requirements,” Montemayor famous.
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The group additionally questioned the DA’s reasoning for declaring a meals safety emergency since costs for well-milled and regular-milled rice have already began to say no, primarily based on information from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Citing PSA figures, FFF stated the worth of well-milled rice spiked in September 2023 and reached its peak in March 2024 at P56.44 a kilo.
“Since then, costs have declined, averaging P54.38 per kilo in December 2024. Costs for regular-milled rice confirmed the same pattern,” the group stated.
“How are you going to declare an emergency now, when costs are already dropping and the extraordinary improve in costs truly occurred a 12 months in the past? How will when it’s time to raise the emergency declaration?” Montemayor requested the DA.
The group urged the DA to go after importers, wholesalers and merchants who’re promoting rice at excessive costs regardless of a 20-percent reduce in tariffs.
It additionally referred to as on Congress to deal with the gaps within the Anti-Agricultural Financial Sabotage Act, which classifies agricultural smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, and fascinating in a cartel as financial sabotage, and the rice tariffication legislation that lowered the import taxes on rice coming from overseas in a bid to assist decrease home costs.
Cartel probe
Final December, Marikina Metropolis Rep. Stella Quimbo prompt that the Philippine Competitors Fee (PCC) be prodded to conduct a proper investigation into the attainable rice cartel within the nation.
This adopted suspicions of a number of members of the Home of Representatives quinta committee, the tremendous committee wanting into the issues of the agricultural sector, that rice importers and merchants had been colluding to control rice costs even after import tariffs had been decreased and following an oversupply of rice within the nation.
“Could I transfer that we direct the PCC to open a proper investigation on a attainable rice cartel, and likewise present PCC entry to no matter data is obtained via this committee listening to,” Quimbo stated through the quinta committee listening to.
Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, chair of the Home committee in agriculture and meals, then directed the panel secretariat to behave on Quimbo’s movement.
Quimbo identified the disconnect between market circumstances and costs, primarily based on PSA information.
As an illustration, she cited authorities information exhibiting that the nation had an estimated 2.5 million MT of rice inventory stock final 12 months, 25 % larger than the 2023 stage, but costs remained excessive.
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The lawmaker claimed that whereas importers and merchants benefited about P13 billion from the decreased rice import tariffs, hoarding the shares might have been the reason for the staple meals’s excessive costs.