To provide more access points of affordable rice in different parts of the country, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) signed an agreement with the National Food Authority (NFA) and the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association Inc. (PAGASA) on 19 September 2018.

 

The agreement will allow consumers to purchase NFA rice, at P27 per kilo, from partner supermarkets under PAGASA. The NFA rice available in supermarkets will be packed and will allow consumers to purchase a maximum of four kilos.

 

“Our goal is to increase the accessibility to NFA rice because this is very important. We want to flood the market with affordable rice and provide the people with more options to access the NFA rice,” said DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez.
 
The agreement will allow PAGASA member supermarkets to pick up NFA rice from the nearest warehouses in their areas and repack them. There are over 160 PAGASA member supermarkets nationwide, which cater to B, C, and D markets. Some of their members include Uniwide Sales, RFC Supermart, Isetann Supermarket, Liana’s Supermart, and Welcome Supermart.

 

DTI plans to expand this initiative and involve big supermarkets in the country. According to the trade chief, they will also speak with other retail associations and get their support to sell and increase access points of NFA rice.

 

Meanwhile, NFA Administrator Jason Aquino expressed his positive outlook of the partnership.

 

“We have the same objective, to make rice affordable and accessible to the people. This will also complement the ongoing program of NFA, called Tagpuan, wherein we go to different communities to ensure that NFA rice will reach the intended beneficiaries,” said Mr. Aquino.

 

Also present during the signing of the agreement were PAGASA President Stephen Cua, DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo, and NFA Deputy Administrator Judy Carol Dansal.