RP holds off rice importation to assess domestic output

The Philippines is still holding off on importing rice even though it has received offers for the staple from Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan, Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap said.

“There are offers from Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan, but we are continuing discussions,” he said.

Yap reiterated the Department of Agriculture (DA) is still assessing how much rice it will have to import next year, depending on how much it is able to purchase domestically.

The National Food Authority (NFA) is targeting a domestic purchase of one million metric tons of rice for next year from the current wet season harvest.

At present, the NFA’s buffer stock is roughly equivalent to about 37 days, but total available stock including commercial stocks comes up to about 60 days.

The DA, however, has adopted a policy of secrecy in its rice purchases so as not to unduly influence global rice prices.

The Philippines, during the recent rice crisis, had been criticized for having caused the uptick in global rice prices due to its public tender.

As such, the DA has been quietly conducting bilateral negotiations, even as it weighs the further need to conduct public tenders.

NFA rice purchases as of Nov. 10, NFA administrator Jessup Navarro said, has only reached 370,000 metric tons.

While it is targeting a total purchase of one million metric tons, Navarro said the NFA expects to purchase the bulk of its targets from the current wet season harvest that will last up to February next year.