Higher NFA palay buying price range may spur inflation By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
R BOOSTING LIQUIDITY IN THE HOUSING MARKET NHMFC President Renato L. Tobias (forward right) and Chinabank Consumer Banking Head Aloysius Alday (forward left) ink an agreement to explore opportunities to boost liquidity in housing finance. Also in photo are (L-R) Joel Macalincag, Josephine Sarangaya, Gaudencio Hernandez, Chinabank Institutional Banking Segment Head Lilian Yu, Securitization Group Vice President Maria Luisa Favila, Chinabank First Vice President Antonio Jose Dominguez, and Acting Corporate Secretary Atty. Joshua Emmanuel Cariño. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
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ICE prices are vulnerable to spikes because of the drought, but the decision of the National Food Authority (NFA) Council to compete with the private sector could put pressure on prices, according to economists. The NFA Council on Thursday approved a higher buying price range for palay to a range of P23 to P30 per kilo of clean and dry palay, and P17 to P23 a kilo for wet and fresh palay. (See: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2024/04/12/nfa-council-okays-higher-palay-buyingprice-range/).
Unionbank Chief economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion told BusinessMirror NFA’s recent move owed to its aim to be more competitive against private traders when it comes to purchasing rice to fill the government’s buffer stock. “It may be that this move can even help maintain prices and help NFA with their buffers. Nonetheless, rice prices are still vulnerable to spikes because of the current challenges brought about by the drought,” Asuncion said. Ateneo de Manila University economist Leonardo Lanzona Jr. said the increase in the NFA’s buying price could lead to an increase in rice prices nationwide, as the government can directly compete
with the private sector. Lanzona said if the government’s main goal is to build its reserves, buying rice should be done in areas where demand for rice is “stagnant and price is generally low.” This, Lanzona told BusinessMirror, will not only impact rice prices but will also achieve better regional distribution. However, NFA is buying rice in areas where prices are high. “Given its access to taxpayers’ money, the government has undue advantage over the private sector, hence creating an upward pressure on prices,” Lanzona told this newspaper. “With the directive to raise
buying prices, the NFA is now heading in areas where prices are already high and the added demand pushes prices higher,” he added. Lanzona said if the government’s aim is to help the farmers, this cannot be done by raising its buying price for palay which ultimately “distorts the markets and unfairly penalizes the private sector.” Extending assistance to farmers can be done by providing public goods such as farm-to-market roads and irrigation. L a n z on a s a id suc h publ ic goods will lead to lower production costs and benefit consumers and producers.
BusinessMirror
See “Higher,” A2
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NG BORROWINGS GROW 22% IN FEB TO P419.97B T n
Monday, April 15, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 181
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 26 pages |
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
HE state’s gross borrowings expanded to P419.973 billion in February this year as the national government sourced its finances through higher domestic borrowings.
The latest data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed that national government borrowings in February 2024 were the highest recorded since the P437.212 billion posted in January 2022 during the pandemic. Borrowings in February 2024 rose by 22.22 percent or P76.348
billion from P343.625 billion in the same month last year. Broken down, almost all the gross borrowings in February came from domestic sources at 98.87 percent while the remaining financing at 1.13 percent was borrowed externally, Treasury data indicated. See “NG,” A2
CRAMPED COMMUTE, MINIMUM WAGE The cargo truck, modified to ferry workers, adds a poignant visual to the ongoing struggle faced by laborers nationwide. Despite recent increments, these wages fall short of supporting a typical family of five’s essential needs, including food and non-food expenses as of March this year, as highlighted by data from the economic think tank IBON Foundation. NONIE REYES
OFWS IN ISRAEL PUT ON ALERT AS IRAN DRONE BOMBS RAIN By Malou Talosig-Bartolome @maloutalosig
T
HE Philippine Embassy in TelAviv has advised Filipinos in Israel to be on alert as drone bombs rained on Israel from Iran and its supporters from Yemen and Lebanon. Bombs and air raid sirens sounded in many parts of Israel after Iran launched dozens of drones and ballistic missiles toward Israel early Sunday. Read full story, “Israel says Iran launched more than 300 drones
and missiles, 99% of which were intercepted,” in A14, World. “Maging maingat at mapagmatyag sa paligid [Be careful and observant of your surroundings],” the Embassy posted on its Facebook account. Hours after Iran confirmed the launch of its drone bombs aimed at Israel, the Philippine Embassy posted another advisory that classes were suspended for 48 hours in areas near the border in Gaza. There are 30,000 Filipinos in Israel, most of them caregivers. See “OFWS,” A2
PHL franchisers urge govt: address main ‘bottlenecks’ By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
T
HE group of Philippine franchise brands is prodding the government to address the “bottlenecks” within the franchising industry such as the tax incentive framework and stringent requirements for Filipino brands to go international, among others. Sherill R. Quintana, Chairman of Philippine Franchise Association (PFA), unveiled the three “bottlenecks” that prevent Filipino brands from going international. “Comparatively, foreign brands are more aggressive because they have backing. First and foremost, even Singapore is like that: they have tax incentives, they have tax holidays when you are scaling up,” Quintana told reporters at a briefing Friday. “Baligtad tayo [We’ve got it in reverse], when you are scaling up, the
more that you are taxed, the more that you are regulated, you’re the favorite [of] compliance [checkers],” the PFA chairman added, partly in Filipino. Quintana noted that in the Philippine setup, the support is being poured into startups. “When in fact when you graduate to that level, you need more support to be able to sustain your operations,” she added. With this, the PFA chairman cited the key issues that should be looked into in order for Philippine brands to export or go international.
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A BATTERY of Israel's Iron Dome defense missile system, deployed to intercept rockets, sits in Ashkelon, southern Israel, August 7, 2022. Israel hailed the success of its defenses in the face of an unprecedented attack by Iran involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. An Israeli military spokesman said Sunday the launches numbered more than 300, but 99 percent of them were intercepted. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. Several ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, causing minor damage to an air base. AP/ARIEL SCHALIT
Tax perks system
FOR one, she said there is a need to rev isit t he ta x incentives framework in the country. “So when you scale up there should be some sort of concessions in terms of tax incentive programs of the government.” See “PHL,” A2
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HOW IMMIGRANT WORKERS IN US HAVE HELPED BOOST JOB GROWTH AND STAVE OFF A RECESSION
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.5030 n JAPAN 0.3688 n UK 70.9508 n HK 7.2097 n CHINA 7.8080 n SINGAPORE 41.7736 n AUSTRALIA 36.9360 n EU 60.6221 n KOREA 0.0414 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.0643 Source: BSP (April 12, 2024)