THE National Food Authority ( A) has surpassed its sales target for its rice stocks auction, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Sunday.
After selling nearly 90 percent of its aged rice stocks at its auction on Friday, the A raised P963.5 million, topping its P912.4 million target for the entire lot.
Aged rice has been stored for three months to a year or more, but is still good and safe for consumption.
“We sold 32.5 million kilos of rice at an average price of P28 a kilo,“ A Administrator Larry Lacson said.
A total of 737,339 50-kilogram (kg) bags of milled rice were on sale, consisting of stocks in storage between three and 18 months. Floor prices were based on age, from P25.16/kg (for three- to six-month-old stocks) to P22.52 (18 months).
The A received bids for 57 of the 83 lots, equivalent to 604,364 bags or 88 percent of the total volume. Thirty-nine bidders filled out documents, although the A expected only 19 to secure contracts.
The average sale price of P28/kg, which is higher than the set floor prices, indicated a strong demand for the stocks despite their age, the A said.
It previously auctioned 315,000 bags of aged rice stocks in December 2025, with prices falling within the projected range of P22.52/kg to P25.16/kg.
“More important than the revenue the auction raised is the space it cleared in warehouses, which will allow A to buy more palay from our farmers at a fair price,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.
Palay (unhusked rice) will be bought at a minimum price of P17/kg for fresh and wet harvests, and P21/kg for clean and dry ones, as the dry harvest season peaks between April and May, the A said.
