NFA to offer as much as P30 to buy palay in some areas

THE National Food Authority (NFA) said it increased its buying price for dry palay (unmilled rice) to as much as P30 per kilo in selected areas, from the previous P21, citing the need to support rice farmers.

In a document shared with reporters, the NFA said the higher procurement price of P30 per kilo will be implemented this week in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Sorsogon, Capiz, Aklan, Bohol, and Negros Oriental.

The grains agency said it will also buy dry palay at P30 per kilo in most parts of Southern and Central Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

In other provinces and regions, the NFA said buying prices will range from P25 to P29 per kilo.

The NFA earlier signaled an increase in buying prices during the dry-season harvest to match the higher prices offered by private traders.

“Right now, traders are buying at very high prices, so we cannot keep up,” NFA Administrator Larry R. Lacson earlier told reporters.

The Philippine Statistics Authority, citing preliminary data, said the national average farmgate price of dry palay rose 28% year on year in March to P23.91 per kilo, the highest level since the P24.68 recorded in July 2024.

The highest farmgate price for dry palay in March was reported in Northern Mindanao at P26.99 per kilo, up 41.8% from a year earlier.

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao recorded the lowest average price at P19.42 per kilo, down 10.4% year on year, making it the only region to post a decline during the period.

In Central Luzon, the country’s top rice-producing region, the average farmgate price of dry palay was P24.42 per kilo, up 33.1% from a year earlier.

Cagayan Valley, another key producer, reported an average farmgate price of P24.22 per kilo for dry palay, 34.6% higher than a year earlier. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel