THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) declared on Monday a food security emergency on rice, the latest effort by the government to lower the cost of the staple grain.
“This emergency declaration allows us to release rice buffer stocks held by the National Food Authority to stabilize prices and ensure that rice, a staple food for millions of Filipinos, remains accessible to consumers,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu-Laurel, Jr. said in a statement.
The DA cited the “extraordinary” increase in local rice prices despite the drop in global prices and the reduction in tariffs last July.
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