Scalers file a sack of palay in one of the buying stations in the town of Mlang, considered the rice granary of Cotabato province. WILLIAMOR MAGBANUA
KIDAPAWAN CITY 鈥� Rice from the recent harvest in neighboring rice-producing provinces is now flooding the mega market in this city, bringing prices down to the delight of consumers.
Carmelito Bacus, president of the Grains Retailer Confederation, said local rice was already selling at P930 per 50-kilogram sack, down from the P1150 prevailing in the market barely two weeks ago.
Prices of rice sold per kilo also went down to P45 and P49 here from P52 per kilo in the previous weeks.
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鈥淭he abundant supply of local rice is the result of the mass harvest not only in the province of Cotabato but also in neighboring provinces of Davao del Sur and South Cotabato,鈥� Bacus said.
Rice farmers in these provinces harvested their crops in the last week of February and in the early weeks of March.
Bacus said the rice being sold in public markets of Cotabato also came from Bukidnon and South Cotabato; and in the towns of Mlang, Tulunan, and Kabacan in this province, which also harvested their palay recently.
He said the supply of lower-priced rice in the market would continue until the next harvest in June.
鈥淐heaper rice can now be easily accessed by our consumers since they can buy it anywhere in Cotabato,鈥� Bacus said.
Suppliers have also assured the rice retailers鈥� association in Cotabato that there would still be a lot of buffer stocks to sustain the needs of consumers before the next harvest.
Bacus also said his store had been enjoying brisk sales; disposing at least 20 sacks of local rice per day, which doubled the 10 sacks per day or even less he sold during lean times.
He noted that in the past months, consumers preferred to buy rice per kilogram to buy it in bulk.
Imported rice, however, continued to sell at a high price of P1250 per sack and P55 to P57 per kilo at the city mega market, Bacus said.