Outside traders cornering Pangasinan rice
ABONO RAISES ALARM
POZORRUBIO—Pangasinan farmers scored a bumper harvest of rice in this last quarter of the year but supply for local consumption could end up deficient by next year if the purchase by outsiders remains unchecked.
The Abono partylist expressed alarm over reports that traders from Isabela and Nueva Ecija are buying rice in Pangasinan at a price higher than what is offered by the National Food Authority (NFA) to divert their produce.
Rice millers in Pangasinan have also expressed their complaint over the situation.
Rosendo So, founding chairman of Abono, said he will ask Gov. Amado Espino Jr. to call a meeting with farmers to address the issue.
“There is a possibility that when rice suddenly becomes scarce in Pangasinan, the palay bought by traders might be sold back to Pangasinan in the form of rice at higher prices,” warned So.
So said some of the outside traders have already set up mobile palay buying stations in different palay producing areas in the province to corner the harvest, which they are offering to buy at P19 to P19.50 per kilo against the NFA buying price of P17 per kilo and an additional 60 centavo incentive fee for cooperatives.
MECHANICAL REPEARS
Some traders have even brought their own mechanical reapers to do the harvesting themselves once the grains are ready.
So said this attracts Pangasinan farmers, none of whom own such an equipment.
The Abono leader said the provincial government should assist farmers by providing the needed reapers to discourage them from relying on those brought in by the traders.
HIGHER PRODUCTION
So believes that with the comparatively lesser typhoon that struck Pangasinan this year and with the good weather prevailing, the province may have already overtaken both Isabela’s and Nueva Ecija’s rice production.
This year, he confirms that Pangasinan planted more lands with rice than Isabela, the second biggest rice producer in the country after Nueva Ecija.
So attributed the stabilization of palay price in Pangasinan and other parts of the country to the seizure of some 200,000 bags of palay being smuggled into Davao.
It was Abono that tipped off the rice smuggling to Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon, leading to the arrest of the rice smugglers.
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