The National Food Authority (NFA) has assured that rice prices in Marawi City and the whole of Mindanao remain stable in the wake of reports that commercial rice is being sold as high as P225 per kilogram or P5,000 per sack.
Continuous market monitoring by the NFA in the whole of Mindanao showed that there is little increase in the prices of rice at only P1/kg to P2/kg in some areas.
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 (WMR) is P50 to P53/kg but there is no available regular-milled rice (RMR). NFA rice is sold at P27/kg. Sources of rice are from Iligan City, NFA Iligan City, Cagayan de Oro, Molave and Bukidnon.
In the municipalities of Marantao (which has nine retailers) and Balindong (with three retailers), WMR is priced at P50 to P56/kg and no RMR. Source of rice are Cotabato City and Pagadian.
“Six retailers operate at MSU market. WMR is sold at P56/kg and no RMR. There was only one (1) 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,” according to NFA Lanao del Sur Manager Hadja Sittienaidah D. Sampaco.
“The municipalities within the Basak area (Ramain, Buadi 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,” Manager Sampaco said.
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 RMR remained stable at P34.50/kg and P36.50/kg, respectively, while WMR also remained at P41.50/kg and P42.50/kg, respectively.
In Camiguin, which is about six hours away from Marawi, the price of RMR slightly increased by 4%, from P36/kg to P37.50/kg while WMR increased by 1% from P43.50/kg to P44/kg. In Misamis Occidental, four hours away from Marawi, a 2% increase was noted in the price of RMR from P35/kg to P36/kg while WMR remained at P41.50/kg.
The NFA 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.
In the light of all these developments, 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.
