Rice stocks dwindle in July

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s rice inventory stood at 2.3 million metric tons in July, down 14 percent year-on-year.

Stock inventory of Filipinos’ main staple will be sufficient for 69 days, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

Stocks held by households are sufficient for 29 days while those in commercial warehouses are good for 35 days.

The National Food Authority, meanwhile, has depositories enough only for five days when it is supposed to have a 30-day buffer stock since it is the lean season.

Commercial warehouses held half of total inventories while households held 42 percent. Supplies from NFA depositories cornered seven percent of the total.

On a monthly basis, rice stocks in all sectors went down in households at eight percent, commercial at seven percent and NFA depositories at 24 percent.

Stocks are expected to increase next month with the arrival of 250,000 MT of rice imports this month.

Meanwhile, corn stock inventory reached 684,000 MT, up by more than 200 percent.

Of the total, 90 percent was in commercial warehouses, nine percent in households and one percent in NFA depositories.

Month-on-month, corn stocks in households, commercial warehouses and NFA decreased 29 percent, 30 percent and 13 percent, respectively.