MANILAminibet88, Philippines — The National Food Authority (NFA) will start accepting palay bagged in new and secondhand sacks to reduce handling cost and save money.
The policy shift will allow the agency to generate savings from purchasing and using NFA sacks, which it previously used in bagging palay bought from farmers.
NFA Administrator Larry Lacson yesterday said the policy change would not compromise the quality of the staple.
Lacson said the pilot-testing of the new bagging policy would begin this harvest season along with a plan to buy about 20 percent of the NFA’s target of 6.4 million pieces of 50-kilo bags from farmers.
If the pilot-testing succeeds, the agency will implement the policy next year, allowing up to 90 percent of palay to be bagged in farmers’ sacks.
The savings can be used to buy more palay for buffer stocking and boost farmers’ income, Lacson said.
“At 20 percent of 6.4-million bags procurement target during the main cropping season, the NFA will save around P27.4 million in the fourth quarter alone in terms of the cost of new sacks and warehouse handling,” he said. “At 90 percent of procurement target of 10.9 million bags of palay next year, we could save around P215.5 million, an amount the NFA can use to buy additional 7,700 metric tons of palay at an average price of P28 a kilo.”
Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has blacklisted three importers and will revoke the license of five others due to alleged involvement in illegal trade practices.
Tiu Laurel said among those blacklisted by the Bureau of Plant Industry were LVM Grains Enterprises, Kysse Lishh Consumer Goods Trading and Golden Rays Consumer Goods Trading.
He said LVM Grains Enterprises imported milled rice, cashew nuts and coffee without the required sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPIC).
Kysse Lishh Consumer Goods Trading and Golden Rays Consumer Goods Trading were banned for importing onions and oranges, respectively, without SPICs and import licenses.
Tiu Laurel said the import licenses of five other firms have been suspended for revocation due to misdeclaration, illegal importation and anti-competitive trade practices.
The names of the five companies were withheld as cases are still being prepared against them. – Bella Cariasominibet88