MANILA — Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said he is preparing for criticism as the National Food Authority (NFA) gears up to auction off 60,000 metric tons of aging rice stocks in October.

The NFA, which Tiu Laurel chairs as part of its council, will first offer the rice to government relief agencies before putting the stocks up for public bidding. The move coincides with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s two-month suspension of rice imports starting September 1 to help lift farmgate palay prices during peak harvest.

“Make no mistake—we expect critics to pounce the moment we hold the auction,” Tiu Laurel said. “They’ll say the rice is weevil-infested, of poor quality, and accuse us of negligence. But this is the inevitable consequence of stripping the NFA of its full powers under the Rice Tariffication Law.”

The agriculture chief warned that spoilage will persist unless the NFA is allowed to rotate stocks faster and invest in modern storage facilities like silos and temperature-controlled warehouses.

The auction aims to free up warehouse space for the incoming harvest, avert a potential supply crunch, and dispose of rice nearing spoilage. Stocks are considered “aging” three months after milling.

A graduated pricing scheme will be applied, with floor prices between P27.96 and P25.01 per kilo depending on storage age.

The NFA currently holds 450,000 metric tons of buffer stock—good for 12 days of national consumption. The rice set for auction represents about 1.2 million sacks, or roughly 13% of the buffer.

A previous plan to auction off palay was shelved after farmgate prices dropped.