The increase in the stockpile of the National Food Authority (NFA) boosted the country’s total rice inventory to 2.629 million metric tons in April, 20.5 percent higher than last year’s 2.182 MMT, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
In its monthly rice and corn inventory report, the PSA noted that the stockpile as of April 1 was 18.4 percent higher than the 2.221 MMT recorded on March 1.
The PSA report indicated that rice stored in NFA warehouses ballooned by 4,609.3 percent to 576,190 metric tons from just 21,920 MT last year.
The NFA has been beefing up its stockpile since late last year after its buying price was effectively went up to a total of P20.70 per kilogram, making the food agency competitive against private traders.
The food agency’s buffer stock was almost wiped out by April 2018 as it was not able to buy more unhusked rice from farmers due to its low buying price.
Also, the NFA was not allowed to import rice as economic managers deemed the national supply enough to meet the demand for the staple.
“Of this month’s total rice stock inventory, around 44.8 percent were in the households, 33.3 percent were in commercial warehouses and 21.9 percent in NFA depositories,” the PSA said in the report published recently.
Rice held by households during the period reached 1.177 MMT, while those in commercial warehouses reached 875,240 MT, PSA data showed.
“Relative to previous year’s inventory level, households stocks displayed a decrease of 14.4 percent,” it said, adding that stocks in commercial houses grew at an annualized rate of 10.2 percent.
“With reference to the previous month, the existing stocks in all sectors were higher than the last month’s level. Stocks in the households, commercial warehouses and NFA depositories showed increments of 13.9 percent, 25.8 percent and 17.1 percent, respecticely,” the report read.
Last week, the NFA announced that its purchases of local unhusked rice from January to April have already exceeded 3 million 50-kilogram bags as planters were enticed by the agency’s high buying price.
The food agency’s total palay purchases of 3.073 million bags, or 153,665.5 MT, in the first four months of 2019 was 55 times higher than the 55,509 bags it bought a year ago.
The 5,436.59-percent increase in procurement was “not surprising” since the NFA is buying unmilled rice at a price that is higher than the offer of traders after the rice industry was liberalized, NFA OIC-Administrator Tomas R. Escarez said.
The NFA said it would “aggressively” purchase local palay to beef up its buffer stock and cushion the impact of uncertainties that may be created by a new trade regime on the rice sector.
The food agency has already shifted its focus to more aggressive palay procurement after the President signed the rice trade liberalization law or Republic Act (RA) 11203, and the subsequent signing of its implementing rules and regulations.
The NFA said it is confident of hitting its paddy rice procurement goal of 14.46 million bags, or 723,000 MT, this year. It increased its palay procurement target for this year after the rice trade liberalization law took effect on March 5.
The NFA’s new goal is nearly double its original procurement target of 7.78 million bags, or 389,000 MT, for 2019. It is also significantly higher than the 1.24 million bags, or 62,000 MT, purchased by the food agency from farmers last year.