NFA ready for El Niño, cites excess rice stocks

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — The National Food Authority (NFA) said it is prepared for the El Niño phenomenon which global weather experts predict would be severe this year, as it boasts of rice stocks that could last up to 17 days, or two days longer than the ideal 15 days.

NFA public affairs director Rex Estoperez told The STAR that the agency’s latest inventory shows that it has 490,000 metric tons (MT) of rice stocks that could last for 16 to 17 days.

"This estimate is based on the country’s daily rice consumption of 30,800 MT of rice daily," he said.

Estoperez said the actual rice stocks available nationwide is even higher at 2.3 million MT.

"These are the rice stocks in households and commercial establishments," he said.

He said the current NFA rice stocks comprise only 21 percent of the national rice stocks.

"The ideal rice stock of the NFA should last a maximum of 15 days, so our current stocks are in excess of the ideal," he said.

He said the NFA normally positions its stocks in "isolated areas" at this time of the year. 

Regardless of the unusual weather, the Department of Agriculture (DA) expects the country to be self-sufficient in rice by 2010, Estoperez said.

"To make this possible, the DA is promoting the planting of hybrid rice and has undertaken a massive expansion of irrigation infrastructure," he said.

The warmest year on record is 1998 when the average global temperature reached 1.2 degrees higher than the long-term average of 57 degrees Fahrenheit.

But Great Britain’s Meteorological Office said last Thursday there is a "60 percent chance that the average global temperature for 2007 will match or break the record," adding that the impact of high temperatures could be felt worldwide.

Estoperez said the NFA also plans to import some 500,000 metric tons of rice within the first semester.

"We want to see this pre-positioned even earlier within the first quarter," he added.

He said that while Vietnam will reportedly no longer export its rice, there are other countries from which the NFA could secure rice.

"We want to be really prepared for our food security requirements before the lean months beginning July," he said.