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PRESS RELEASE
Agriculture Secretary Yap urged to investigate rice price increase
Farmers and civil society groups challenged Department of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap to investigate the rice traders amid the rising prices of the country’s staple food and called on the National Food Authority (NFA) to intervene in the market and avert the skyrocketing of prices early on.
“Instead of dismissing the trend as a normal price movement, Secretary Yap should hold the rice traders accountable for possible overpricing. He has no business attributing the current retail price of P36 per kilo to increase in farmgate price of palay at P16 per kilo. The farmers have no more stocks left in their hands,” said Jaime Tadeo, President of National Rice Farmers Council (NRFC).
Tadeo explained that the traders bought the farmers’ harvests in October and November at a very low price of only P7 to 8 pesos per kilo when the prices of palay were in downward trend as a result of the damages caused by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.
He said palay spared from the damages was bought at a slightly higher rate of P13 to 14 per kilo.
“Walang awa ang mga traders. Pagkataos nilang pagsamantalahan ang mga magsasaka pagkatapos ng bagyo noong anihan, gusto pa nilang humamig ng mas malaki at ang mga konsyumer naman ang kanilang pipigain. (The traders spare no mercy. After taking advantage of the damages suffered by the farmers on their palay harvest, the rice traders now want to rip the consumers further.),” said Trinidad Domingo, President of the coalition of women farmers, Pambansang Koalisyon ng mga Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK).
Domingo said the farmers may not have caused the rising prices now because they have sold their produce long ago to the traders because they needed the money to help them recover from the damages caused by the calamities.
“We want the government to send the unscrupulous rice traders a stronger message and action than Secretary Yap merely justifying the rising trend in prices,” said Jessica Reyes-Cantos, R1 lead convenor.
Cantos added that the agriculture official has to set the record straight by looking at the possible cause of the price increase to disprove doubts that the agriculture department is holding these rice traders as sacred cows.
Meanwhile, the Task Force Food Sovereignty (TFFS) also raised the alarm that the NFA may not release its own supply at this point because they are reserving the stocks for distribution later, at the height of the electoral campaign period.
“The administration will do everything in its power to get the votes they badly need. Wala na ngang awa ang mga traders, mukhang wala rin tayong mapapala sa NFA at sa gobyerno. (The traders will not pity on us and yet we can not even rely on the government to defend us.),” said Nestor Diego, TFFS spokesperson.
Domingo shared this alarm as she explained that the government may choose to release the stocks in April when the farmers are harvesting their palay. She said the government will not help the consumers now and worse, they will press the prices of palay down when the harvest comes.
The groups held a press conference today amid reports that the prices of rice in Cebu increased by P2 per kilo and P1 in the National Capital Region (NCR).
REFERENCES: Jessica Reyes-Cantos 0917-3200007 Jaime Tadeo 0915-8412230
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