MANILA (ANN/THE PHILIPPINE DAILY ENQUIRER) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has provided reassurance to the public regarding the nation’s rice situation, emphasising its stability amidst the potential impact of the El Niño phenomenon on rice production and reserves.
A statement from the Presidential Palace on Wednesday indicated that Marcos, who also serves as the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA), engaged in discussions concerning rice supply on Tuesday, August 8.
The meeting involved dialogues between the DA, the Private Sector Advisory Council, and the Philippine Rice Stakeholders Movement (Prism).
Within this dialogue, the DA and Prism collectively presented President Marcos with a comprehensive overview of the country’s rice supply, extending until the end of 2023.
According to Malacañang, DA Undersecretary Merceditas Sombillo said during the presentation that the country’s ending rice stock would be 1.96 to 2.12 million metric tonnes (MT) by the end of this year. The Palace pointed out that September to November would be the rice harvest season in the country.
“The rice situation is manageable and stable. There is enough rice for the Philippines up to and after El Niño next year,” Marcos declared following the presentation.
In a report early this month, the National Food Authority’s (NFA) rice stockpile has been found to have fallen short of the minimum inventory requirements to help the Philippines get through calamities.
The report said the NFA’s buffer stock as of end-June this year stood at 1.22 million bags or 60,819.95 MT, good for just two days based on a daily rice consumption rate of 679, 670 bags or 33,983.5 MT. According to an official, a safe buffer stock based on daily consumption should last nine days.
But based on the agency’s average daily sales of 26,085 bags, its inventory is good for 47 days, an NFA report showed.
The report also emphasized that NFA’s stock is only part of the national rice inventory. Households and the commercial sector hold the rest.
“We don’t need to panic about anything else. We need to stay calm. We must be one in our objective to be positive on this. We have enough rice,” Prism lead convener Rowena Del Rosario-Sadicon said in the statement released by the Palace on Wednesday.
