Gov’t to stop rice importation–Alcala
The government will soon stop its rice importation and will just let the private sector do the job of importing rice to ensure transparency and remove the suspicion that officials are benefiting from rice importation, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said.
Alcala said in a press conference Monday the country will not import rice up to the end of this year.
Alcala presided over the inauguration of the Korea-Philippines Seafood Processing Plant in Brgy. Bonuan Binloc, Dagupan City, along with Minister Yong Ho Kim of the Korean Embassy in Manila and former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., at whose initiative the project was built at no cost to the city government of Dagupan.
He said, however, that the National Food Authority will still make one more rice importation, already its last, before the middle part of next year but only to complete the requirement of the 30-day buffer rice stocks to be consumed during the leans months from June to August.
But he said that if the NFA can maintain its present rice stock, to be boosted by the stocks that will be bought from farmers under the NFA rice procurement scheme, then the government will not important rice at all.
Alcala maintained that before Typhoon “Juan” lashed at Northern and Central Luzon, farmers were able to harvest their matured palay, thus saving them from total destruction.
The palay were sold to NFA which now formed part of the 30-day buffer rice stocks of the country.
In Isabela, the country’ second biggest rice producer, farmers were able to harvest their palay two days before the arrival of typhoon “Juan,” Alcala said.
He said that when the buffer rice stock shall have been fully satisfied, the government will let the price of rice seek its own level for the benefit of Filipino rice farmers, earning thunderous applause from his audience.*PNA
