NFA threatens to blacklist abusive rice traders
Merchants who are part of the government's Tindahan Natin (TN) program may be stripped off their license to sell cheap rice if they are found guilty of violating proper trading practices, the National Food Authority (NFA) warned.
NFA Administrator Jessup Navarro said they will be monitoring TN rice outlets for possible trading violations for the next four months. All violators, he said, will face an automatic cancellation of their accreditation, and will be blacklisted from the TN program.
According to Navarro, some of the most common rice trading violations include unwarranted price hikes, diversion of NFA stocks, unreasonable depletion of stocks, refusal to sell NFA rice, selling of commercial rice alongside government stocks, and engaging in the grains business without a valid license from the NFA.
"Being accredited to retail NFA rice is only a privilege, and the agency has the right to cancel or terminate their accreditation if warranted," Navarro said in a statement.
The TN program is aimed at allowing Filipinos access to cheap rice and other food items. It is managed jointly by the NFA and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
TN outlets sell cheap rice at P18.25 per kilogram to families with family access cards in Metro Manila, and to those listed in the TN rice allocation ledger in the provinces. At present, there are a total of 14,581 TN outlets nationwide, which are usually located in depressed communities.
Meanwhile, the NFA said it has increased its rice distribution target for the lean months to effectively stabilize price and supply. From 4.5 million bags of rice in June, the agency increased its target to more than 5 million bags for the months of July and August.
Navarro said there is usually a rise in rice prices during the lean months due to a decline in palay (paddy rice) production. He added that most trading violations occur during the period. ABS-CBN News