Philippines rice inventory up 14% to 3.09 million MT

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s rice inventory has returned to its upward momentum, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Latest data from the PSA showed that total rice inventory as of December last year stood at 3.09 million metric tons (MT), 14 percent higher than the previous year’s volume stock of 2.72 million MT.

The current inventory is also five percent higher from the previous month’s volume stock of 2.96 million MT.

The PSA did not specify the number of days that the stock inventory of Filipinos’ main staple will be sufficient.

But, based on the average daily consumption of Filipinos of 32,000 MT, the current inventory is sufficient for 97 days.

Households had more than half of total inventories at 51.9 percent, while commercial warehouses held about 32.6 percent. Supplies from the National Food Authority (NFA) depositories comprise 15.5 percent of the total.

On a monthly basis, rice stocks in households and commercial warehouses increased by five percent and three percent, respectively. A six percent increase was also noted in NFA depositories.

Meanwhile, prices of Filipinos’ main staple continued to be on the downward trend with consumers saving more, but farmers earning less following the influx of imported rice.

Data showed consistent lower prices for more than 10 months now after the Philippines opened its rice industry to more private sector imports.

PSA said the average wholesale price of well-milled rice is at P37.23 per kilogram as of the first week of December.

This is 12 percent lower than the P42.17 per kilo level from the same period a year ago, but 0.1 percent higher on a weekly basis.

Its average retail price also decreased by nine percent to P41.44 per kilo.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price of regular-milled rice was P33.09 per kilo, down 15 percent, while its average retail price was at P36.57 a kilo.

While consumers are benefitting from the opening up of the market, local farmers are suffering from declining palay farmgate prices.

The average farmgate price of palay is nowhere near recovery at P15.62 per kilo, just 0.4 percent better on a weekly basis.