2015 rice output seen rising by 1.2%

Global production of milled rice is expected to rise by 1.2 percent to 500 million tons in 2015, due to an expected recovery of output in South and Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines.

According to the latest forecast by the Agricultural Market Information System (Amis), Philippine output is expected to recover even with a relatively poor showing so far through the year.

“In Thailand and the Philippines, conditions are poor for the dry season rice,” the Food and Agriculture Organization-administered agency said in its latest Market Monitor report.

“In the Philippines, harvest has concluded this month for the dry season rice and conditions are slightly poor due to intense heat and insufficient water,” it added.

On the other hand, the Amis noted “favorable” rice production conditions in India, China, Vietnam, the United States, Nigeria and Argentina.

The Amis also observed continually “good” conditions for the wet season crop in Indonesia, owing to ample sunlight and the availability of sufficient water supply.

For 2015, the Amis pencils in a six-million-ton increase in full-year production worldwide as harvests bounce back in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

For the 2015-2016 crop year, the Amis sees rice consumption increasing by 1.7 percent as the average consumer’s intake is pegged at 57.5 kilogram.

Further, expected increases in importation to Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ivory Coast and Nigeria may drive a rebound in global trade in 2016.

As of this month, global trade volume is forecast at 42 million tons, up by a million tons from 2014.

The National Food Authority, meanwhile, has opened a P19.8-million rice storage facility in Libmanan, Camarines Sur, meant to help the agency’s palay procurement efforts as well as ensure food security in times of natural calamities.

NFA administrator Renan Dalisay on Friday said in a statement that the Libmanan warehouse, which can hold 100,000 bags at a time, boosts the NFA’s storage capacity in the Bicol region to some 972,000 bags.

“Considering that Bicol is always hit by typhoons, the new warehouse has a very vital role in the region,” he said.