The National Food Authority (NFA) announced that it has increased its rice buffer stock to 7.56 million 50-kilo bags of milled rice.

In a statement Friday, the NFA revealed that as of April 24, the inventory included 10.1 million bags of palay (unmilled rice) and 1.2 million bags of milled rice — the highest level since the end of 2020. The agency added that this stock is sufficient to sustain the country for 10 days.

“We still have about P12 billion allocated for palay procurement, and we intend to maximize purchases during the ongoing summer harvest,” said NFA Administrator Larry Lacson.

Under the law, the NFA is mandated to purchase palay from local farmers. Currently, the NFA has been procuring palay at P24 per kilo for clean and dry rice and P18 per kilo for fresh rice.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. noted that the NFA was previously allowed to sell rice directly to the public, which helped stabilize supply and prices “while managing its stockpile more efficiently.”

However, he pointed out that since the passage of the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), the NFA’s role has been limited to buffer stocking, and it no longer holds the regulatory functions essential to managing rice prices, among other tasks.

Since the passage of the RTL, the NFA’s buffer stock has dropped to 41,285 metric tons, which the agency said is “just enough to cover national consumption for one day.”

“The trend has since reversed after the NFA Council, chaired by Secretary Tiu Laurel, approved a higher buying price of up to ₱30 per kilo of palay,” the NFA added.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is actively exploring other ways to expand access to affordable rice.

On Wednesday, 23 April, the DA launched a program aimed at selling rice for P20 per kilo, initially implemented in the Visayas region. Under this initiative, families will be able to purchase up to 10 kilos of rice per week, or 40 kilos per month.