THE National Food Authority on Sunday said that rice prices in Marawi City and the whole of Mindanao remain stable and denied that prices have reached P225 per kilogram.
In a statement, NFA assured that rice prices in these areas remain stable in the wake of reports that commercial rice is being sold as high as P5,000 per sack.
NFA said continuous market monitoring in the whole of Mindanao showed that rice prices in some areas only increased by P 1 to P 2 per kilogram.
In Saguiaran town (where there are four accredited retailers), next to Marawi (if you are coming from Iligan City), the price of well-milled rice is P50 to P53 per kg while the NFA rice is sold at P 27 per kg.
NFA, said however, that there is no available regular-milled rice in the area.
Sources of rice are Iligan City, NFA Iligan City, Cagayan de Oro, Molave and Bukidnon.
NFA said that in the towns of Marantao (which has nine retailers) and Balindong (with three retailers), well-milled rice is priced at P50 to P56 per kg. Source of rice are Cotabato City and Pagadian.
“Six retailers operate at MSU market. WMR is sold at P56/kg and no regular-milled rice. There was only one bag of NFA rice seen at the time of canvass (June 12, 2017). Maybe, it was the remaining rice from our last release on May 22, 2017. Very few stocks remained in their possession as residents, including students, already evacuated the place due to the ongoing fighting between government troops and Maute terrorist group,” said NFA Lanao del Sur Manager Hadja Sittienaidah D. Sampaco.
“The municipalities within the Basak area (Ramain, Bua di Puso Buntong, Bubong, Mulondo, Tamparan, Taraka, Masiu and Butig) can be reached by either passing through Marawi or Ganassi. In these places, the price of rice may be higher because they cannot be easily penetrated. Farhana Maute, mother of the Maute brothers, was captured somewhere here. Also, this is where some of their relatives live,” added Sampaco.
NFA said that based on previous monitoring efforts, it was reported that in Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental, which are about two to two-and a-half hours away from Marawi, the price of regular-milled rice remains stable at P34.50 to P36.50 per kg while the price of well-milled rice also remained at P41.50 to P42.50 per kg.
In Camiguin, which is about six hours away from Marawi, the price of regular-milled rice slightly increased by 4 percent, from P36 per kg to P37.50 per kg while well-milled rice increased by one percent from P43.50 per kg to P44 per kg.
In Misamis Occidental, a two percent increase was noted in the price of regular-milled rice from P35 to P36 per kg while well-milled rice remained at P41.50 per kg.
The NFA said it is also looking into the possibility of fielding rolling stores to assure residents in conflict-stricken Marawi of enough supply of rice and arrest threats of irrational price hikes of the staple.
Meanwhile, the NFA has already released a total of 9,992 bags of rice as of June 16, 2017 to various relief-giving agencies and organizations for distribution to the victims of crisis in Marawi City.
NFA administrator Jason Laureano Y. Aquino has assured the public of the agency’s readiness in stabilizing the supply and prices of rice under any circumstances anywhere in the country.