PH’s rice inventory falls 13% year-on-year – Manila Bulletin

The Philippines’ rice inventory as of January this year declined by 12.8 percent year-on-year after both commercial warehouses and state-run grains agency National Food Authority (NFA) ended with lower stocks during the period.

Data from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that as of January, the country’s rice stocks inventory was recorded at 2.33 million metric tons (MT). This was lower by 12.8 percent in comparison with the previous year’s level of 2.67 million MT.

Likewise, rice stocks dropped by 15.7 percent over the previous month’s level of 2.76 million MT.

Year-on-year, rice stocks in households rose by 7.6 percent, but rice stocks in commercial warehouses and NFA depositories both contracted by -27.5 percent and -32.8 percent, respectively.

The rice stocks inventory in all sectors declined compared with the previous month’s levels too.  

Decrements were noted at -20.3 percent in households, -13.2 percent in commercial warehouses, and -0.1 percent in NFA depositories.

During the period, the total rice stocks inventory level was comprised of 55.3 percent in households, 29.6 percent in commercial warehouses, and 15.1 percent in NFA depositories.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has proposed to reduce the tariff on rice imports coming from non-ASEAN countries to only 35 percent from the current 50 percent.  

This is to bring in more cheap, imported rice into the country, which should result in lower prices.

Such a proposal is pending with the Tariff Commission and is facing opposition from different groups, including DA’s own legally mandated arm for stakeholders’ participation, Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF).

PCAF said the DA’s priority should be to increase local production of food as well as improve the local supply chain and mobilize local supply, while importation should only be an alternative source of supply to fill up the demand gap.

The group is also claiming that DA didn’t consult its stakeholders enough before coming up with its importation-related proposals.

“The tariff reduction can facilitate price control among the traders and will stabilize the supply and prices, however, this scheme will have unintended and spillover effects affecting the incomes of producers who are mostly the backyard and commercial swine/hog raisers and the rice farmers,” said PCAF Presiding Officer Danilo Fausto.

Fausto was also referring to the proposed temporary tariff cut on pork imports.

“In such manner, the producers/farmers will be discouraged to produce more and is contrary to the promotion of DA programs for increased productivity in the long term,” Fausto further said.

For his part, Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) National Manager Raul Montemayor questioned the basis for the DA’s petition, given that Agriculture Secretary William Dar had repeatedly said the country will have enough local rice production following a record harvest in 2020 despite the series of typhoons and calamities.

It noted that the DA even suspended the issuance of import clearances late last year to ease the glut in supplies after a surge in imports in the middle of the year.

As of December 31, 2020, the country’s total rice imports stood at 2.07 million MT, which is higher compared to the 1.86 million MT that entered the country in the same period in 2019, data from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) showed.