The Department of Agriculture said it is expecting some three months’ worth of national rice stock inventory by the end of December in addition to rice supply sourced abroad, thus enough supply until the next harvest season.
“At the end we’re expecting around 85 to 90 days national stock inventory by end of December which is enough to last until harvest season come March or April,” DA Asec. Arnel de Mesa said.
“Of course, imports are expected because our importation system is liberalized. Based on historical data, there will be additional imports during the first quarter,” he added.
De Mesa said the DA is expecting at least 20 million metric tons (MT) before yearend.
The country’s imports as of November have reached 3.03 million MT, lower compared to last year’s 3.5 million MT for the same period.
“Last year ang kabuuan is 3.8 MT. We’re expecting this year around 3.2, 3.3 million metric tons wala pa iyong Indian rice. Kumbaga, magkaroon lang na kaunting diprensiya plus matatag naman iyong ating production,” de Mesa said.
The DA is waiting for the delivery of the 95,000 MT of Indian rice out of the 295,000 MT secured by the government. Succeeding deliveries are expected in January, de Mesa added. – PNA
