Gov’t will continue to import rice, says DA exec

The government is set to continue importing milled rice this year even as the country renews its push for self-sufficiency, according to Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The government is set to continue importing milled rice this year even as the country renews its push for self-sufficiency, according to Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala.

The agriculture chief, however, told reporters that there was no decision yet on how much would be imported.

“Definitely we will import—we can’t say we won’t—but we are still studying the volume,” Alcala said, adding that the volume being reported in the media was mere “gossip.”

Importation is necessary because the government missed its goal of attaining self-sufficiency in rice production by 2013, he explained.

Aside from that, Alcala said, the release of large volumes from the National Food Administration’s stockpile in the wake of Super Typhoon Yolanda led to an “abnormal” situation where the biggest part of available domestic supply was in the hands of the private sector.

According to the latest data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, the Philippines started the year with a stock of 2.12 million metric tons (MT) of rice, 13 percent (270,000 MT) of which was with the NFA. Households kept 1.27 million MT (about 60 percent) while commercial warehouses held 580,000 MT (27 percent).

The NFA is mandated to maintain a buffer stock that should last for 15 days which, at a national consumption rate of 34,000 MT daily, is about 500,000 MT.

Last January, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it increased the expected volume of Philippine imports by 200,000 MT to 1.4 million MT as the government beefed up its buffer stock.

The USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) said in a report that the revised forecast was based on data from the US Agricultural Office in Manila, which indicated that Philippine government planned to increase its stockpile.

In February, the NFA announced it had started accepting private-sector rice importers’ application for quota allocations totaling 163,000 MT, which would be shipped into the country this year.

This refers to country-specific quota under the minimum access volume that the Philippines has committed to the World Trade Organizations.

Based on the country’s commitments, the Philippines’ allocation would be spread among Thailand (98,000 MT), India and China (25,000 MT each), and Australia (15,000 MT).

In a memorandum to prospective applicants, NFA Administrator Orlan A. Calayag said each importer could apply for a minimum allocation of 2,000 MT and a maximum of 5,000 MT for the entire year.