Rice inventories up, corn stocks down in August

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s grain inventories moved in opposite directions in August, with rice stockpiles growing by a little over a fifth from a year ago even as corn supplies contracted by just above a 10th.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the volume of rice held in households and commercial warehouses stood at 2.32 million metric tons as of Aug. 1, higher than the 1.86 million MT recorded a year earlier.

The government’s statistics agency noted the increase translates to a 24.5 percent year-on-year rise.

This month’s rice stocks inventories registered annual increases from the NFA depositories by 207.6 percent and from the households by 51.6 percent. On the other hand, an annual decrease was noted from the commercial sector by 11.5 percent, it said in a report, breaking down the numbers.

Commercial warehouses cornered nearly half of the country’s reserves in August, while households accounted for a little over a third and National Food Authority depositories made up the rest.

Despite the year-on-year buildup, overall rice supply slipped from the previous month, reflecting a 16.8-percent drop from July’s 2.79 million MT.

Meanwhile, corn inventories as of Aug. 1 stood at 590,720 MT, down by 11.2 percent from the 665,070 MT posted a year earlier, the PSA said.

From the same month of the previous year’s level, corn stocks inventory from the commercial sector recorded an annual decrease of 18.6 percent. On the other hand, an annual increase of 116.7 percent was noted from the households, the PSA said in the same report.

On a month-on-month basis, corn inventories also slipped by 5.4 percent from July’s 624,400 MT.

The PSA reported that palay production in the first half reached 9.08 million MT, up by 6.4 percent from the same period last year.

Corn output also rose, totaling 3.9 million MT and marking a 5.2-percent increase over the same timeframe.