No rice shortage: NFA

THERE is sufficient supply of commercial rice, thus, the National Food Authority 11 (NFA 11) has cut down the volume of NFA rice being distributed to retailers.

This is to ensure that there is supply available to cover calamities and emergency situations.

NFA 11 manager Edegary Roncal clarified yesterday that supply of rice in the city is still sufficient, however, she said they cut down on their distribution since the harvest season has started and thus there is enough commercial rice that buyers prefer.

The clarification followed after retailers

raised concern over the cut of distribution, which started this month, from 150 sacks of NFA rice to 40 sacks of NFA rice per retailer.

"In our inventory, we still have 200,000 bags of rice, it is still enough. What is happening now is we are calibrating our distribution pattern and that is normal. Usually if it's lean season (June-September), we deliver bigger volume while if its harvest season, we try to manage the distribution to ensure that the affordable and quality NFA rice will really go to low-earning consumers and that we have enough supply whenever a calamity or emergency situation will occur," she said in an interview with Sun. Star Davao.

The 200,000 bags inventory is normal, she said. This is the number of sacks that NFA maintains in its warehouse regularly to ensure ample supply. This inventory is good for 27 days should there be a need to flood the market with cheap rice.

She underscored that the volume of distribution for the NFA rice is not fixed.

Meanwhile, a vessel from Thailand is expected to unload 50,000 bags of imported rice on Friday, October 27, in Davao City.

NFA 11 has some 200 accredited retailers in the region. ASP