06/03/2008 | 07:48 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The National Food Authority (NFA) admitted Tuesday a rice "shortage" in Southern Mindanao, where rice prices went up to as high as P50 a kilo.
NFA spokesman Rex Estoperez said the supply shortfall hit some 400,000 metric tons, prompting the area to get its supply from Iloilo, Central Mindanao and even Metro Manila.
"Noong nakaraang mga season pala, yung ating Southern Mindanao meron na talagang deficit na mga 400,000 metric tons. Ang nagsu-supply sa kanila na Central Mindanao, 40,000 lang ang surplus, so talagang kukulangin sila (In the last season, Southern Mindanao had a shortage of 400,000 metric tons. It had to get its supply from Central Mindanao, which at the time had a surplus of only 40,000 metric tons)," Estoperez said in an interview on dwIZ radio.
He said other rice supplies also came from Iloilo and Metro Manila, which he said was carrying high price tag due to transportation cost.
The revelation belied repeated claims by President Gloria Arroyo and agriculture secretary Arthur Yap of a bountiful rice harvest, at least in Southern Mindanao.
Estoperez said NFA administrator Jessup Navarro had flown to Mindanao to get a detailed report on the rice situation there.
But he insisted that the P50-per-kilo rice was the commercial variety, and not the NFA-subsidized rice.
According to him, the NFA will now "inject" supplies of subsidized rice priced at P18.25 and P25 per kilo to the markets there to prevent price speculation and manipulation.
"Gagawin natin ngayon i-adopt ang strategy sa Metro Manila. Mag-i-introduce tayo ng P25 mid-price at ituloy ang P18.25 (We will adopt the plan we implemented in Metro Manila. We will introduce the P25 mid-price rice from Thailand and America and continue to sell the P18.25/kilo rice)," he said.
In the meantime, Estoperez appealed to households to stop engaging in "household hoarding," including lining up for NFA rice more than once a day.
"Huwag magsayang ng bigas, at ang sa pila huwag bumalik-balik ... Sana huwag ganoon kasi masisira ang ating normal na distribution (Don't waste rice and don't line up more than once a day. We hope everyone will cooperate because this is disrupting our normal distribution flow)," he said.
Meanwhile, Estoperez reiterated his warning to rice dealers not to engage in hoarding and price manipulation, lest the NFA revive police "visitations" of warehouses.
He said tapping the police and National Bureau of Investigation is a "last resort" for the NFA.
"Ayaw natin mangyari yan at ayaw natin sa madaling panahon. Pakiusap natin normal ang pagbenta (We don't want to resort to that. So we are asking them nicely not to hoard)," he said. - GMANews.TV
NFA spokesman Rex Estoperez said the supply shortfall hit some 400,000 metric tons, prompting the area to get its supply from Iloilo, Central Mindanao and even Metro Manila.
"Noong nakaraang mga season pala, yung ating Southern Mindanao meron na talagang deficit na mga 400,000 metric tons. Ang nagsu-supply sa kanila na Central Mindanao, 40,000 lang ang surplus, so talagang kukulangin sila (In the last season, Southern Mindanao had a shortage of 400,000 metric tons. It had to get its supply from Central Mindanao, which at the time had a surplus of only 40,000 metric tons)," Estoperez said in an interview on dwIZ radio.
He said other rice supplies also came from Iloilo and Metro Manila, which he said was carrying high price tag due to transportation cost.
The revelation belied repeated claims by President Gloria Arroyo and agriculture secretary Arthur Yap of a bountiful rice harvest, at least in Southern Mindanao.
Estoperez said NFA administrator Jessup Navarro had flown to Mindanao to get a detailed report on the rice situation there.
But he insisted that the P50-per-kilo rice was the commercial variety, and not the NFA-subsidized rice.
According to him, the NFA will now "inject" supplies of subsidized rice priced at P18.25 and P25 per kilo to the markets there to prevent price speculation and manipulation.
"Gagawin natin ngayon i-adopt ang strategy sa Metro Manila. Mag-i-introduce tayo ng P25 mid-price at ituloy ang P18.25 (We will adopt the plan we implemented in Metro Manila. We will introduce the P25 mid-price rice from Thailand and America and continue to sell the P18.25/kilo rice)," he said.
In the meantime, Estoperez appealed to households to stop engaging in "household hoarding," including lining up for NFA rice more than once a day.
"Huwag magsayang ng bigas, at ang sa pila huwag bumalik-balik ... Sana huwag ganoon kasi masisira ang ating normal na distribution (Don't waste rice and don't line up more than once a day. We hope everyone will cooperate because this is disrupting our normal distribution flow)," he said.
Meanwhile, Estoperez reiterated his warning to rice dealers not to engage in hoarding and price manipulation, lest the NFA revive police "visitations" of warehouses.
He said tapping the police and National Bureau of Investigation is a "last resort" for the NFA.
"Ayaw natin mangyari yan at ayaw natin sa madaling panahon. Pakiusap natin normal ang pagbenta (We don't want to resort to that. So we are asking them nicely not to hoard)," he said. - GMANews.TV
Reaction:
Rice shortage is a problem not only in South Mindanao but all over the country. It really saddens me that some cities or provinces in the Philippines are importing rice to supply the shortage. If we trace back our rice history, we can see that the Philippines is among the top producers of rice in Asia. I wonder how the tides changed; one of the top producers of rice before is now experiencing shortage. What could have been the reasons that brought us this trouble?
We had all the resources to start with: a vast area of land, blessed with the weather and temperature of our tropical location, and sufficient amount of rainfall. We had our Banaue Rice Terraces before that was considered one of the 7 Wonders of the World. It didn’t only provide us with tourism but also a hefty supply of rice. If I think of it, with all these in our hands, a rice shortage was the last thing our country would experience. Alas, we are currently expecting the least trouble I thought we would have: rice shortage.
I am not an expert with regards to how the economy of rice works in our present situation today but I will share my thoughts on why this barricade is blocking our way to the land of the prosperous. Allow me to share a little of my experience in relation to the matter. I live in a province where hectares of rice fields can be found abundantly. I am aware of this because travelling from one place to another the refreshing green aura of a rice field attracts my eyes. Now, as years are passing by, I can see less of the rice fields and more of Banana plantations, rubber trees, oil palms, new constructions of buildings, and etc. It made me think why people preferred to enter into those businesses mentioned above and not into the rice industry. With the help of my curiosity, I found out that rice farmers are paid with an amount that is not sufficient to support their needs while the processed rice being sold in the market is substantial or better. With this knowledge, I concluded that people, specifically rice farmers, are starting to shift away from producing rice because of the lower benefit they receive than planting bananas, rubber trees, and oil palms. Of course, there are more technical reasons as to why we are experiencing this hassle: hoarding by greedy people, calamities destroying our land, drought depriving our plants of water, floods, etc.
I can still remember years ago the rice shortage and price inflation of rice had a big impact on the consumers. People are lining up on designated NFA stores to buy subsidized rice due to the high prices of commercial rice. Today, if I am not left behind, we are experiencing little to no rice shortage but we still import rice in cases of rainy days. Hopefully, with the joint effort of the Government and its people we can maintain our situation today and perhaps in the near future we can take back the recognition of one of the top producers of rice.
SUPERB!
ReplyDeleteThis is an ideal reaction paper. Your views are insightful.
You have the potentials of being a writer. Keep on blogging!:D
score:25/25
FEATURED