Rice stocks increase to 2.598 million MT in June 2019

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s overall rice stocks grew by 10.1% year-on-year to 2.598 million metric tons (MT) as of June 1, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

Compared to the inventory in May, however, this is an 11.8% decline, the PSA said on Thursday, July 11.

The total rice stocks as of June 1 were deemed sufficient for about 81 days.

Year-on-year, household and commercial warehouse stocks dipped by 4.2% to  1.05 million MT and by 21% to 998,230 MT, respectively. Stocks held by the National Food Authority (NFA) jumped to 551,060 MT from 2,080 MT in 2018.

Compared to May, household stocks dropped by 17.1% while commercial warehouses saw their stocks dwindle by 11.2%. The NFA’s stocks also slid by 1.3%.

The NFA is mandated to have 15 days’ worth of buffer stock at any given time and 30 days’ worth of stock during lean season, or the months when there are no harvests. (READ: NFA buys over 3 million bags of palay in January-April 2019)

The Philippines should be set to have more rice after the passage of Republic Act No. 11203 or the rice tariffication law in early 2019. (READ: What’s inside the IRR of the rice tariffication law?) – Rappler.com