NFA officer-in-charge Tomas Escarez said the grains agency would soon come up with the list of its focus distribution areas as NFA will still unload rice in the domestic market. “In Batanes, for example, almost 70 percent is dependent on NFA rice and once you pull that out, it will be costly for them to buy commercial rice. With the open market for rice, NFA has been clipped of its importing powers and is now focused on local procurement for buffer stocking emergency. NFA’s move for focus distribution aims to ensure that only poor households will benefit from cheap rice prices. Based on the 2015 Family Income and Expenditure Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), NFA rice accounted for only 7.2 percent of total rice consumption in the country.

Source: Philippine Star May 19, 2019 22:03 UTC