Cebu rice price, supply stable
The price of rice in Cebu remains stable and there is also enough supply of National Food Authority rice in the local market.
This is according to Davao City Representative Karlo Alexei Nograles, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, after he inspected rice prices in the Carbon Public Market in Cebu City yesterday.
Nograles said he discovered that the large spike in the prices of rice in Cagayan de Oro City was because the NFA slashed the supply in Region 10 and diverted it to Region 9 to address the rice crisis in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
The 100 sacks supply per week in the NFA outlets in the market was reportedly slashed to 25 sacks per week.
As a result, Nograles said residents of Cagayan de Oro City had no choice but to buy commercial rice.
“Pasalamat ta diri sa Cebu dili pareha sa CDO nga nagka-problema didto sa presyo sa bugas, diri sa Cebu walay problema sa stock sa NFA, so diri nato makita nga kung walay problema sa stocking sa NFA sa usa ka lugar, dili pud magka-problema sa presyo sa bugas, sa commercial,” Nograles told reporters after his inspection in the Carbon Market.
The price is pegged at P27 per kilo at the Bigasan ng Bayan while it is P32 per kilo in the market.
Nograles made the inspection of rice prices following call of NFA Administrator Jason Aquino to legislators and concerned parties to go around the country to learn more about the issues involving rice.
“The NFA administrator is right; we legislators should go out in the field and really look into the problems in the rice industry,” he said.
He said that the absence of cheaper alternatives in the form of NFA rice have allowed commercial rice suppliers to dictate rice prices in the market.
On Monday, Nograles said lawmakers will call on NFA officials in a budget hearing to explain how they will spend the P5 billion proposed budget for 2019 to prevent the recurrence of the same problem of inadequate rice supply in other regions.
In 2017 and 2018, they learned that the bulk of NFA’s budget was used to pay their debts with the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines, which the Commission on Audit questioned.
“Kung gigamit unta pagpalit og bugas dili unta mahitabo ang pagsaka sa presyo sa kamerkadohan nationwide. Kuwang ang supply kay gibayad sa utang,” Nograles said.