The National Food Authority said it continues to buy rice from planters at P19 per kilogram in its bid to beef up its buffer stocks.
According to the NFA, local government units have been assisting the agency in procuring rice supplies for its buffer stock. The local government and the NFA have signed a memorandum of agreement to raise the buying price of palay. In the case of Tanauan town, the local government will be adding P2 to the existing palay buying price currently pegged at P19/kg.
The Philippines imported a record high of 3.826 million metric tons of rice last year, according to data from the Bureau of Plant Industry .