The Agriculture Department said the Philippines will end 2020 with a rice inventory of at least 94 days despite the great demand for the commodity.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said new estimates showed an ending rice inventory of 3.27 million metric tons by the end of this year.
“This will settle, once and for all, the misconceptions espoused by uninformed quarters on the rice supply outlook, as the Department’s estimate is based on the official data of the Philippine Statistics Authority, and validated on the ground by the regional field offices,” he said.
The country’s rice supply comes from three sources—from beginning stock or surplus carried over from the previous year, local production and imports.
The estimated rice supply by the end of the year is about 17.99 million MT, or 18 percent higher than tota demand of 14.67 million MT.
The computation included the contribution of the Rice Resiliency Project under the Plant, Plant, Plant Program or the Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat (ALPAS) kontra Covid-19.