By LITO RULONA
Correspondent /
THE National Food Authority on Tuesday assured that there is a sufficient supply of rice in northern Mindanao.
The NFA said the current supply of rice in Region 10 is enough to meet the demand for 48 days.
Fernando Nuñez, NFA regional manager, gave this assurance even as he showed an inspection team of local price price control and coordinating council the rice supply at the NFA warehouse here.
The team included the council’s vice chairman Jose Edgardo Uy and Councilor George Goking, chairman of the city council’s committee on business, trade and commerce.
The officials had an emergency meeting amid fears of a rice shortage.
Nuñez assured that there is no shortage of the rice supply in the region.
“We have more than a month of rice supply for the entire region,” he said.
But he said there a sudden increase in the prices of commercial rice apparently as a result of misconceptions and talk about a rice shortage in the country.
Record shows that the rice stock in the country, including inventories of the NFA and commercial rice producers, is 2.7 million metric tons which is good for 86 days. In Northern Mindanao, the NFA said there was 1.375 million metric tons as of Feb. 1.
“We have this daily consumption requirement of 28,920 bags in the entire region. This will still last for 48 days,” Nuñez said.
He however said the NFA supply was affected as a result of calamities last year, including the Marawi siege.
Nuñez said the local government is helping the NFA in the keeping an eye on unscrupulous businessmen and guarding against rice hoarding.
Councilor George Goking said the Department of Trade and Industry, NFA and city hall agreed to create a task force against rice hoarding. This, he said, would be finalized on Friday.
Goking said the task force would also go after those that would mix commercial rice and NFA rice.
“This should be stopped kay daghan ang affected ani labi na kadtong gapalit gyud og NFA rice sa kamerkaduhan,” Goking said.
Uy meanwhile said the price coordinating council would inspect commercial rice warehouses, markets and malls.
“Dili man pud pwede nga pasagdan ta kini kay part man siya sa basic commodities,” Uy said.
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