‘Overpriced’ importation jack up rice prices
Progressive lawmakers expressed alarm over the jacked up prices of rice in the National Capital Region and other parts of the country, which they blame on the government’s importation of overpriced rice. “We have received reports that rice prices have increased by P2 to 3 per kilo. We are experiencing a perpetual overpricing of imported […]
Progressive lawmakers expressed alarm over the jacked up prices of rice in the National Capital Region and other parts of the country, which they blame on the government’s importation of overpriced rice.
“We have received reports that rice prices have increased by P2 to 3 per kilo. We are experiencing a perpetual overpricing of imported rice, and the spike of rice prices now is due to the fact that local traders and retailers are passing the additional cost to consumers. This is tantamount to economic sabotage,” said Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap.
The National Food Authority (NFA) again decided to import one million metric tons (MT) of rice for the July to September buffer stock, which lawmakers said were overpriced by more than P1 Billion.
Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano said that for the 500,000 MT rice imported from Vietnam for the December 2013 to March 2014 buffer stock, the Philippines lost around P540 Million due to overpricing.
With the latest importation, Mariano estimates that loss from overpricing will reach P1.04-B, based on their sources from the NFA.
“Our sources from the NFA Council said [that the total cost of 205,700 MT imported by the NFA was at only USD425.70/MT.] But why did the government-to-government payment amount to USD459.70? The tongpats here is USD34/MT,” said Mariano.
He further said that the NFA is committing double overpricing by also overpricing rice in the local markets.
“The real cost is P19 to 20 per kilogram, but the NFA is selling rice at P25/kg…The question now is who benefitted from these incidents of overpricing and why is Malacañang doing nothing about it?” Mariano challenges.
Meanwhile, farmer leader and Anakpawis spokesperson Danilo Ramos said that the recent rice importation will compete with the rice produced by local farmers during the April to May harvest season.
“Our basic position remains to be that no to rice importation and we must rely on our own farmers… The best rice policy is to implement genuine agrarian reform and help our local farmers to produce all the rice needed by our country, instead of depending on rice importation that is highly susceptible to corruption” said Ramos.
