Philippines fall short of goal for palay procurement in 2009

THE GOVERNMENT fell 48.6% short of its already downscaled full-year palay procurement target at 453,312 metric tons (MT), data from the National Food Authority (NFA) showed.

In October last year, the NFA downscaled its original one million MT target to 881,302 MT as it factored in an estimated 1.3 million MT of palay lost to storms that hit starting end-September.

An NFA official attributed the purchase shortfall to farmers preferring to sell to private traders, who offered higher prices in the face of the storm production losses. "We were hoping to get our target, but after successive typhoons, prices of palay increased. So, farmers sold to private traders who offered higher prices," NFA Assistant Administrator Jose D. Cordero said in an interview.

In 2008, the agency bought a 29-year-high 685,300 MT of palay from local farmers, up from the 33,000 MT purchase in 2007. The previous record was 700,000 MT bought in 1979, NFA data show.

The state grain agency buys stocks with 14% moisture content for P17 per kilogram, but offers a lower price for stocks with higher moisture levels that do not exceed 24%.

NFA had 996,311 MT of rice as of Dec. 29, 2009, enough to supply nationwide demand on its own for 28 days, against a standard buffer stock requirement of 15 days.