Rice, corn stocks grew in April, says PSA

The country’s inventory of rice and corn rose slightly in April, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

For rice, the PSA said that as of April 1, stocks marginally increased by 2.5 percent to 2.5 million metric tons (MT) from 2.4 million MT a year ago.

But month-on-month, the national rice stockpile surged by 53.5 percent from 1.6 million MT.

Rice supply in commercial warehouses/wholesalers/retailers expanded but those stored by households and the National Food Authority (NFA) dropped.

Holdings by commercial warehouses grew by 35.1 percent while inventory levels in households and NFA depositories declined by 6.3 percent and 43.7 percent, respectively.

On a monthly basis, rice in households surged by 58.7 percent and in commercial warehouses by 63.2 percent. Stocks in NFA depositories, however, decreased by 13.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the PSA reported that corn inventory climbed by 8.9 percent to 777,370 MT from 713,680 in April last year.

This was also 73.4 percent higher than the 448,310 MT recorded in March.

Corn stockpile in commercial warehouses/wholesalers/retailers rose by 31.2 percent but those maintained in households sank by 30.3 percent.

—Jordeene B. Lagare