BUTUAN CITY (MindaNews/19 May) – Warehouses of the National Food Authority in Caraga Region have started selling imported rice to accredited grain dealers in the region.
Gil Pepito B. Paqueo, NFA regional director, announced on Tuesday that provincial and city offices have already started accepting buyers for their imported rice (VCCW91), 15% “broken”, pegged at Php1,175.00 per bag.
He clarified, however, that the field managers would only sell to retailers and wholesalers who are holders of NFA licenses and up to 5,000 bags per transaction.
Paqueo assured their current stock is more than enough to meet the month-long requirement of Caraga’s five provinces – Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and the island province of Dinagat..
The region consumes an estimated 22,800 bags of rice daily.
According to the NFA’s rice inventory, as of the first week of May, 974,790 bags of imported rice now being stored at different warehouses across the region.
Based on the 2007 census, Region XIII registered a total population of 2,293,480 making it the country’s third least populated region.
Paqueo called on consumers to immediately report any case of overpricing, re-bagging and diversion of NFA imported rice.
Weeks ago, the NFA and the agriculture regional office here sold certified palay seeds to farmers at P600 per 40-kilo bag.
Paqueo said the price was subsidized by the government as one 40-kilo bag of is actually worth P1,200. (Alden Pantaleon Jr/MindaNews)