InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
ILOILO CITY, Philippines – The province of Iloilo and its neighboring island province Guimaras are boasting of a rice surplus at the start of lean months.
Based on the data of the National Food Authority, Iloilo and Guimaras provinces now have a buffer stock that can last them for 75 days.
The buffer stock is computed based on the daily consumption of the two provinces' residents: approximately 21,080 bags per day. The buffer is equivalent to 1.6 million bags of rice currently stored by commercial rice traders, households, and the NFA.
The NFA Iloilo provincial office also continues to procure rice from the farmers, but its procurement from January to June this year is only less than 20,000 bags despite sufficient budget from the central office.
The NFA procurement is being affected because of the higher price offering of the commercial traders -about P20 per kilo as compared to that of the NFA, which stands at P17.00 per kilo - and sporadic harvests after the second cropping last year.
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