Rice from Vietnam arrive in northern Mindanao

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines — Two foreign cargo ships carrying 5,300 metric tons of rice from Vietnam arrived at the ports of northern Mindanao last weekend.

National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) 10 Director Mylah Mylah Faye Cariño said on top of that, the Agriculture Department also expected a good harvest of rice in Northern Mindanao in the coming weeks.

Cariño said these were expected to boost the rice stocks of 103 days in the region.

“We have now enough rice for Northern Mindanao. The prices and supply will stabilized,” Cariño said.

Cariño said the two vessels arrived respectively on March 31 and April 1. One ship carried 4,000 metric tons while the other had 1,300 metric tons.

The supply of rice had been a concern after Bukidnon Governor Jose Maria Zubiri threatened to stop the sale of the grains outside his province.

Because food supply was exempted from the quarantine measures, Cariño said 160,000 kilos of fruits and vegetables were being shipped to Dumaguete, Cebu, Bohol and Manila last week.

Cariño said 340,000 kilos of eggs and day-old chicks were shipped from the Cagayan de Oro port to the markets.

She said another 800,000 kilos of eggs and day-old chicks were shipped to Davao and other regions in Mindanao.

“Every day cargoes are being loaded at the port of Cagayan de Oro. Northern Mindanao have not stopped food production,” Cariño said.

Northern Mindanao especially the provinces of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental are one of the major food baskets in Southern Philippines./dbs