THE National Food Authority (NFA) will import more rice in December to “flood the market” with cheap commercial rice and bring down the price of the staple, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said. “I will tell the [NFA] council that starting next year, we will not anymore import fancy rice. We should import only the ordinary rice as help to local consumers and bring down prices,” Piñol said. “High rice prices due to tight supplies, rising fuel prices, and market distribution inefficiencies will force the Philippine government to import more rice to stabilize prices and contain inflation, which is at a nine-year high,” the USDA said. “Increasing rice prices are forcing the Philippine government to import more to augment supply and stabilize prices [next year],” it added.

Source: Manila Times September 23, 2018 16:18 UTC