SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ – Retailers of National Food Authority (NFA) rice have to join long queues too, and endure a day getting their allocation just so they can serve consumers back home.
This was aired by Melvin de Guzman, one of the eight accredited NFA rice retailers at the public market here, not as a complaint but as a way of expressing sentiment as he was apparently peeved by the constant complaints of buyers queuing to buy the cheap government rice from his stall.
His sentiment was also expressed by the other NFA rice retailers here to make known to the buyers that they travel with their transport vehicle and spend a day to haul their allocation. They said they also have to wait for their turns being given the allocation from the NFA warehouse.
“Dapat din po nila maintindihan ang hirap na pinagdadaanan namin para lang makakukuha ng bigas ng NFA na pambenta sa kanila (They have to understand the difficulties we have to undergo to get our NFA rice allocation for them),” De Guzman lamented.
He said he had to leave early from here to go to the NFA compound in Cabanatuan City, about 31 kilometers from here, twice a week to get his allocation of 30 cavans (of 50 kilograms each).
Using his own hauling vehicle (Elf), and a helper in tow, he leaves this city at 6:30 a,m., he said. Arriving at the NFA compound after an hour (“there’s too much heavy traffic on the way”), he has to line-up with the rest of the other accredited retailers to sign a ledger for the release of a payment slip. Thereafter, about 8:30 to 10:30 a.m, he lines up again before the cashier’s office to make his payment for his allocation. Then he goes to the warehouse to get the paper granting authority for the release of the supply by the warehouse men.
It usually takes him after lunch time to finally have his rice allocation. As he also sells other products in his store, he spends a few hours to purchase some supplies to fill up the spaces for his hauling vehicle. He arrives late afternoon at his store and schedules the selling of the rice supply the following day.
“We serve around 390 buyers on a first-come, first-served basis at two kilograms each buyer. It takes several hours before our helpers can serve all of them,” he said.
He added: “Maraming nagrereklamo, naiinis habang nakapila. Kung alam lang nila, naghirap din kami para makakuha ng supply na ibebenta sa kanila (There are many who are peeved, always complaining while waiting for their turn to be served). But we, too, endure difficulty just so we can get the supply to be sold to them.”
De Guzman said NFA personnel monitor the selling of the rice allocation: “There’s no way we can play with our allocation, like mixing them with our commercial rice for sale. It can be detected at once by the NFA personnel.”
Then he noted how some buyers have been checked joining another line to buy additional NFA rice. “Mayroon ding nandadaya sa pagpila kaya nawawalan ng mabili iyong iba (They cheat in order to buy some more NFA rice to the detriment of others who wish to avail of the NFA supply),” de Guzman said.
The NFA rice allocation that they get is sold at P32 per kilogram.
“We get only a profit of P2 per kilogram. Subtract our expenses in getting our allocation and the pay for our helpers, that’s our benefit,” he said.
De Guzman also said there’s no way, as he sees it, that the commercial rice that they are selling can be brought down to P38 or P39 per kilogram.
“The rice millers are buying the fresh harvest at P22 to P23 per kilogram. To compute how much they can sell it, the easiest way is to multiply it by two and that’s their ex-farm price,” de Guzman said.
