Rice inventory drops 7.5% in May

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s rice inventory dropped 7.5 percent in May, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In its latest rice and corn stocks inventory report, the PSA said total rice stocks inventory stood at 2.58 million metric tons (MT) as of May 1, down from the 2.79 million MT registered in the same period a year ago.

The figure, however, is 5.8 percent higher than the 2.44 million MT recorded in the previous month.

Based on the average daily consumption of Filipinos of 32,000 MT, the current inventory is sufficient for 81 days.

Households accounted for 55 percent of the total inventory at 1.5 million MT.

This was followed by commercial warehouses with a 35 percent share of the inventory at 956.8 million MT, while supplies from the National Food Authority depositories cornered 9.3 percent at 316.2 million MT.

On a monthly basis, rice stocks in households decreased by 2.7 percent.

In contrast, stocks in commercial warehouses jumped 24.5 percent.

Stocks in NFA depositories,on the other hand, remained almost the same from the previous month’s level.

Compared to the previous year’s level, rice stocks in households fell 6.2 percent.

Rice stocks from commercial warehouses also decreased by four percent, while stocks in NFA depositories fell 24.2 percent.

For this year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) projects a year-end stock of rice good for 75 days.

Earlier this week, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said he was hoping production of palay (unhusked rice) would be sustained in the second half in a bid to achieve the DA’s target of 20.4 million MT this year.

“We expect the wet season in the second semester, especially in the third quarter. So we’re hoping that the strong typhoons will not come and we’ll be able to plant better in terms of palay,” Dar said.

Dar noted that rice production already improved in the first half.

“I think rice production increased by 4.3 percent in the first semester. If this continues in the second semester, then our 20.4 million MT target will be met,” he said.