Rains boosted rice stocks, says agri chief

MANILA, Philippines—The unusually wet weather in the first quarter of the year has boosted rice stocks tremendously, said Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala Tuesday, adding that the paddy output for the first half of 2011 may be the highest on record.

Alcala said a “record-high paddy rice production” of 8 million metric tons (MT) in the first half of the year was possible, which could mean that importing more rice to cover shortfalls may not be necessary.

In a press briefing Tuesday, Alcala said rice production in the first quarter could reach 4.1 million MT, 18.6 percent higher than the 3.49 million MT produced in the same period last year.

And because of expected robust palay production, Alcala said the first semester output could hit 8 million MT, breaching the projected output of 7.6 million MT.

“Paddy rice production could reach 8 million MT for the first half. Overall, crop production [at least] for the first quarter is good,” he said.

The revised palay production for the first half of the year is 21 percent higher than the output in the same period last year, which was 6.62 million MT.

Total paddy rice yield in 2010 was only 15.77 million MT, 3 percent lower than production in 2009.

A drought caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon last year was to blame for the poor crop production, the Department of Agriculture said.

On the other hand, the wet La Niña weather, which started last October and peaked in January and February, brought above-normal rainfall all over the country, during what were supposed to be dry months.

The unusually high precipitation was beneficial to the rice farmers, Alcala said.

The better-than-expected paddy yield has given Alcala more confidence to eschew additional rice importation.

“I told the NFA council there will be a bumper harvest of palay (in the first half of the year). So the rice import figure we announced is final and we may no longer have to revise it,” he said.

In March, the Philippines ordered 200,000 metric tons of rice from Vietnam for about P4 billion. It also auctioned off licenses to commercial rice traders for the importation of 660,000 metric tons of rice via the NFA’s private sector importation facility.

National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Angelito Banayo had said that he was keen on importing more rice to ensure that there would be enough stocks in the lean months and the second half of the year, when ferocious typhoons hit the country.