Pangasinan has enough rice for gawat
LINGAYEN–The National Food Authority (NFA) has assured that there is enough stock of rice to supply the needs of western Pangasinan during the lean months, known as gawat in Pangasinan and Ilocano, from June to September.
NFA Provincial Manager Ramon Cuaresma said presently, there are 600,000 bags of rice in the hands of the agency stored in its different warehouses in the province.
He said the supply even exceeds the mandate of the NFA branch in western Pangasinan to maintain a 20-day buffer stock of rice, equivalent to 300,000 bags at any given time.
In addition, commercial stocks in the area are estimated to be 200,000 bags while the household stocks are estimated to be 450,000 bags.
All these amount to 1.3 million bags which will last up to November, the peak of the harvest season.
However, the agency anticipates some sporadic harvesting of rice in the area starting in August, especially from farmers who planted a third rice cropping.
Cuaresma said the local NFA branch is gearing to buy rice from farmers starting in August or September.
“We are not worried about the supply…we can sustain the needs of our people, especially during the lean months,” said Cuaresma.
In addition to its current stocks, the NFA in western Pangasinan anticipates the arrival of another 400,000 bags of rice imported from Vietnam, Pakistan and Thailand.
NFA sells rice at a release price of P23.50 per kilogram or P1,175 per sack of 50 kilos to authorized NFA outlets.
On the other hand, commercial rice in Pangasinan is pegged between P24 to P27 per kilo depending on the variety.—LM
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