Duterte OKs task force to probe rice inventory

MANILA, Philippines -  President Duterte has approved the creation of a task force that will look into the nationwide inventory of rice stocks.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Duterte had already given his go- signal to the signing of a memorandum order which would operationalize Task Force Bigas.

“The task force is expected to avert any attempt to hoard rice and create an artificial shortage following the announcement made by the President that no rice importation should be made during peak harvest season,” Piñol said.

The inter-agency task force will be headed by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and will be supported by the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Philippine Statistics Authority, National Food Authority, Department of Trade and Industry, National Bureau of Investigation, and Philippine National Police.

The task force will open and inspect all grain warehouses nationwide, including those suspected to contain smuggled rice.

The decision followed reports from some sectors of a looming rice shortage if the government would not allow the importation of rice.

Piñol, however, slammed these groups, which he said were trying to justify the need for importation when local farmers are enjoying a peak harvest season.

“If we really would like to establish a credible rice stock position, we have to factor in smuggled rice. That’s why we need to inspect all warehouses,” Piñol said.

The establishment of the taskforce aims to prove there is enough rice supply in the country and establish actual stock situation to allow the government to come up with correct statistics, which could be the basis of sound agricultural planning, particularly in terms of rice production.

The task force is expected to be created within the quarter and will conduct continuous inventory among the agencies involved.

It will open and inspect all grain warehouses nationwide, including those suspected to contain smuggled rice.

Piñol likewise emphasized that rice trading in the Philippines has largely been controlled by big businessmen who own rice mills and warehouses.

“These are also the same businessmen who, using farmers’ cooperatives as dummies, take advantage of the country’s rice importation program by cornering import permits and timing the arrival of the imports during peak harvest season,” he said.

“The President’s announcement of the no importation policy during the harvest season was welcomed by rice farmers all over the country but was resented by the rice cartel who immediately launched an orchestrated campaign against the policy, including floating the story that the move could result in a rice shortage in the country,” Pinol added.

Latest data from the PSA showed that the country’s rice inventory in March declined by 19 percent to 2.18 million metric tons.

The agency reported that total rice inventory was up five percent in March.

Despite the decline in stocks, the PSA said the stock inventory of the Filipinos’ main staple remains sufficient for 64 days.