Metro Manila consumers can avail of P27.00-rice following the directives of Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar to the National Food Authority (NFA) to unload its warehouses of stocks to flood the market with affordable rice on or before October 10.

During a visit at the Commonwealth market on September 13, the Secretary announced that in a month’s time the government will release a total of 3.6 bags of rice stored at NFA warehouses.

With affordable NFA rice released to the markets, Dar is positive that market prices of other rice varieties sold will go down as well.

“We will see to it na bababa po ang presyo [ng bigas] sa mga merkado,” Dar said.

In addition to the unloading of NFA rice stocks, the Secretary has also instructed the agency to increase the buying price of rice from P17.00 to P19.00 as part of the support of the Department of Agriculture to the rice farmers.

With the P2-increase, farmers can expect an additional P8,000 income based on the national average of four-tons per hectare yield. ### (Adora Rodriguez, DA-AFID)