Volume of PH rice imports seen declining

THE VOLUME of milled rice bound for the Philippines this year is seen to decrease by 300,000 tons to 1.5 million tons, a quarter less than the volume brought in last year.

In its monthly report on the global rice market, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said the substantial reduction in the forecast import volume was based on adequate supplies monitored and the relatively slow pace of the import market.

“[This is] despite some crop damage in 2015-2016 that was related to El Niño,” the USDA’s Economic Research Service reported.

The agency was referring to the current marketing year—from the middle of last year to the middle of this year.

The USDA noted that for marketing year 2015-2016, a strong El Niño reduced rice crops in several regions, mostly in Latin America, Southeast Asia and South Asia.

For crop year 2016-2017, the global output of milled rice was projected to hit a record 480.7 million tons or 2 percent higher from a year earlier.

“Recoveries are projected for each of these regions in 2016-2017, primarily due to expanded harvest area,” the agency said.

The Philippines—along with Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States—represent the bulk of the global area expansion.

“The global area expansion is largely due to producer support programs in several Asian countries and a desire by many countries to rebuild stocks after El Niño reduced production in 2015-2016,” the USDA said.

Earlier this month, the World Trade Organization said the Philippine government expressed interest in Thailand’s efforts to sell stockpiled rice, even as agriculture officials said they saw no urgent need for more imports.

Last April, Bangkok announced plans to sell Thailand’s remaining 11.4 million tons of rice in government stockpiles.

“Thailand used to have a government program to purchase rice from farmers at supported prices, leaving the country with a large inventory of rice in warehouses,” the WTO said in a statement.