Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 14) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the country generally remains to have an ample supply of rice but the current buffer stock of the National Food Authority (NFA) is not enough.
“’Yun lang ang nakita naming problema, mababa ‘yung buffer stock ng NFA [That’s the only problem we saw. The buffer stock of the NFA is low],” he said in a video released by the Presidential Communications Office on Thursday.
A buffer stock is a large amount of a commodity bought and stored when there is extra, so that this can be sold when supply runs low in order to help stabilize prices.
Marcos, who is also Agriculture secretary, said he wants the NFA to buy more rice from local producers and ensure that the stock would be good for at least nine days of national demand.
However, he noted that this still needs planning to prevent price hikes due to the purchases.
“Ang problema, kapag sila ay pumasok sa merkado, pag sila’y namili na para i-replace yung buffer stock na kulang nila ay tataas naman ang presyo ng bigas dahil marami silang bibilhin. Kaya’t yun ang hinahanapan namin ng paraan para i-adjust,” the President said.
“Siguro ang magagawa natin ay ang pagbili ay hindi bigla, hindi malaki,” he added.
[Translation: The problem is if the NFA buys rice for its buffer stock, prices will increase because the agency will purchase in large amounts. That’s what we’re trying to address. Perhaps what we can do is not to buy big quantities at once.]
In terms of the country’s overall rice supply, Marcos said \”I think we are in good shape.\”
“Although we still have to import, our importations have come down,\” he noted. \”Our agricultural sector is beginning to come back beyond pre-pandemic levels, and so that’s progressing nicely.\”
The Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier warned that the staple could cost up to ₱5 more per kilogram in the coming weeks, adding that it has monitored small price adjustments since February.
It noted different factors that could contribute to such an increase, including higher prices of farm inputs, low buffer stock, and the threat of El Niño.
Based on the DA’s monitoring of prices in Metro Manila markets on Thursday, a kilo of local well-milled rice costs ₱39 to ₱46, while regular milled rice costs ₱36 to ₱40.
