SENATORS on Sunday gave assurances that the country has a surplus of local rice, thus there is no reason for the public to panic amid reports that the stocks of the National Food Authority Rice (NFA) are dwindling. The senator filed a resolution calling for an inquiry into the reported NFA rice shortage, which was set on February 27. They should not be limited to Central Luzon because rice traders there are selling their rice at a higher price,” Villar explained in a radio interview aired over DzBB. The NFA has temporarily suspended issuing NFA rice to traders because of its low buffer stock. But while we cannot control the market, government must protect our local rice farmers by not importing rice during harvest season,” she added.

Source: Manila Times February 11, 2018 17:26 UTC