Inquirer
DA to lift food security emergency on rice ‘as soon as possible’
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. declared a food security emergency for rice on Monday, February 3, due to an extraordinary spike in rice prices.
This declaration allows the National Food Authority (NFA) to sell rice buffer stocks at P33 per kilo to local governments and other entities, which can then sell it to consumers at P35 per kilo.
The Department of Agriculture clarified that the declaration is not due to a shortage, but solely because of the extraordinary increase in rice prices.
The NFA estimates it will absorb losses of P12 to P15 per kilo, with total losses up to P2.25 billion if it releases up to 150,000 metric tons of rice within six months.
The Department of Agriculture intends to lift the food security emergency on rice "as soon as possible" once its objectives are met.
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