NFA buys up ‘palay’ as prices drop

The National Food Authority on Tuesday announced plans for a massive campaign to buy palay from local farmers as farmgate prices in some areas went down to within P14-P16 a kilo.

This means that, at least in those areas, the NFA can now afford to buy as prices have gone below its set budget of P17 a kilo.

NFA administrator Renan B. Dalisay said in a statement that the agency had exceeded by as much as 346 percent, or four and a half times, its intended buying volumes in the provinces of Iloilo, Palawan, Sultan Kudarat, Antique and Isabela.

Farmers are welcome to sell their produce to the nearest palay buying stations in their area, Dalisay said. “The NFA is ready to buy everything. We have sufficient funds to buy their produce.”

The agency wants to buy 189,845 metric tons of palay in the first semester of 2015 alone, the NFA chief said. As of Feb. 9, the NFA already bought 89,497 cavans across the nation.

The NFA, which is mandated to ensure stables supplies and prices for the staple grain, buys at a basic rate of P17. If fees, such as those for delivery and drying were factored in, the NFA’s effective buying rate is P17.70 a kilo.