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NFA buffer stock to last only 3 days 'if it fed entire PH'

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ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1425965" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>MANILA - The National Food Authority&#x27;s buffer stock of rice if it were to feed the entire country is only good for about 3 days, a spokesperson said Friday.</p><p>This accounts for only about 2.2 million bags of the staple grain currently in the warehouse, in the ports, and in transit to the Philippines, said NFA spokesperson Rex Estoperez.</p><p>&quot;Yung 3.44 days na &#x27;yan, hindi naman natin kaagad-agad na mauubos &#x27;yan dahil hindi naman tayo ang magsu-supply sa buong Pilipinas,&quot; he told radio DZMM&#x27;s Failon Ngayon, explaining that commercial and household rice also contributes to the slower depletion of the stock.</p><p>The normal buffer stock should have been 30 days during harvest season and even higher during lean months like August, said Estoperez.</p><p>&quot;Ang ating anihan ay mid-September so we have to stretch ang ating naiiwan ngayon para sa emergency natin at para mai-supply natin sa mga kababayan natin sa pamilihan,&quot; he said.</p><p>The distribution of rice has been &quot;calibrated&quot; in the different provinces, except in Batanes, where 6,000 bags were sent, and the region of Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-tawi, he said.</p><p>Estoperez said the NFA has teamed up with the Department of Trade and Industry and the National Bureau of Investigation to inspect the warehouses of traders if they would still have stock which are not being released.</p><div><strong>RICE BEING UNLOADED TO BOOST LOW SUPPLY IN THE REGIONS</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_2_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_2" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1425963" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Estoperez said the NFA is expecting that with fair weather these past few days, some 56,000 bags of rice imported from Thailand will be unloaded from the Subic port soon.</p><p>This will boost the stock being distributed in Central Luzon, where some provinces reported limited supply, he said.</p><p>The delay was partly caused by the fumigation done on the rice after these were found to have been infested with weevils, he said.</p><p>He said the results of the process, which usually takes 7 to 12 days, will determine if the NFA will accept the imports or not.</p><p>The rice has also passed their &quot;aging test,&quot; and the weevils were really caused by the 3 months the bags were stored in the importing ship.</p><p>&quot;Kailangan nating i-undergo sa ating quality standards ito,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>The National Food Authority's buffer stock of rice if it were to feed the entire country is only good for about 3 days, a spokesperson said Friday.</p>

The National Food Authority's buffer stock of rice if it were to feed the entire country is only good for about 3 days, a spokesperson said Friday.