President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. assured that the country’s rice stockpile could last even after the El Niño phenomenon next year.
His assurance came after he met with industry players led by the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) and the Philippine Rice Stakeholders Movement (PRISM) at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Tuesday.
“The rice situation is manageable and stable. There is enough rice for the Philippines up to and after the El Niño next year,” Mr. Marcos, who also serves as head of the Department of Agriculture (DA), said.
The El Niño phenomenon might persist until the first quarter of 2024, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration earlier said.
The President convened the meeting to discuss with stakeholders the status of the rice industry and measures to ensure sufficient rice supply in the country, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil said.
Garafil said the DA and PRISM presented to Mr. Marcos the rice supply outlook for the country until the end of 2023.
Based on a statement posted on state-run Radio Television Malacañang’s official Facebook page, the DA also briefed the President about the country’s current supply situation, factors that threaten the country’s rice production and export, and the import trends and needs.
DA Undersecretary Merceditas Sombillo said the projected ending stock for 2023 is 1.96 million metric tons (MMT), enough to last for 52 days.
Sombillo added that the Philippine Statistics Authority’s ending stock projection presents an even better scenario as it is expected to be 2.12 MMT, which would last for 57 days.
Palay harvest season is from September to November.
Agriculture Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian meanwhile said he is optimistic that rice output in 2023 may hit more than 20 million metric tons (MT), following bumper harvest in the first semester.
“With the 3 percent production growth in the 1st Semester, we can expect that barring the occurrence of destructive typhoons, the production for 2023 could surpass 20 million MT,” Sebastian said.
He added that the 3 percent incremental output is an excellent news for farmers and for the country.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) palay output from January to June 2023 rose to 9 million MT, from 8.7 million MT produced during the same period in 2022, higher than the output projection of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The 9 million MT palay is equivalent to 5.9 million MT milled rice, about 200,000 MT more than PRISM estimate of 5.7 million MT Sebastian said.
Sebastian noted that the 9 million MT palay production for the first half of 2023 is also higher than the production levels for first half output of 2022 and 2021.
