Manila, April 14 -- The National Food Authority (NFA) on Monday said it will auction off its aging rice stocks to free up warehouse space.

The NFA's aging rice refers to milled rice stocks two months and a day old or above.

In a media interview, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said this would help the agency secure more spaces for the local palay (unhusked rice) procurement from farmers amid the dry harvest season.

"Magpapa-auction ako (I will launch an auction) under the law... Hoping that by the end of this month or early next month. We will be targeting the regions na puno ang bodega (with full warehouses) so that we can free up, then we can buy," he said.

The NFA earlier said it plans to procure 880,000 metric tons (MT) of palay th...