THE country’s rice stockpile in September plunged to its lowest level in nearly 11 years as the inventory of commercial warehouses dropped by more than a third, according to the latest report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
In its report, the PSA said the country’s total rice inventory of 1.168 million metric tons (MMT) as of September 1 was nearly 18 percent lower than the 1.422 MMT recorded last year.
“This was 23.19 percent lower than last month’s inventory of 1.52 [MMT],” the PSA said.
The September 1 rice inventory was also the lowest held by the country since October 2007, when it reached 1.375 MMT.
Of the total volume recorded at the start of September, more than half, or about 52.24 percent, were held by households, while 38.25 percent were in commercial warehouses. The remaining volume was in the warehouses of the National Food Authority (NFA).
The rice stockpile in households was estimated at 610,200 metric tons, while the inventory in commercial warehouses and NFA depositories were pegged at 446,730 MT and 111,100 MT, respectively.
“Compared with their levels last month, rice stocks in households and commercial warehouses declined by 18.25 percent and 33.64 percent, respectively. Rice stocks in NFA depositories as of September 1 grew by 9.84 percent from the previous month’s inventory level,” the
PSA said.
“Compared to the previous year, rice stocks in NFA depositories increased by 69.52 percent. However, stocks in households and commercial warehouses decreased by 11.44 percent and 33.64 percent, respectively,”
it added.
The government monitors rice stocks regularly to determine if there is a need to implement interventions, such as importation, to beef up the country’s stockpile.
The PSA also reported that the country’s total corn inventory as of September 1 sank by 62.6 percent to 531,070 MT, from its previous year’s record of 1.422 MMT.
“Likewise, corn stocks inventory for the period was down by 56.54 percent, from the previous month’s stock level [of 1.221 MMT],” the PSA added.
Of the total inventory, around 74.81 percent was in commercial warehouses while the remaining 25.19 percent was in households.
“Year-on-year, corn stocks inventory in the households and commercial warehouses decreased by 14.35 percent and 68.61 percent, respectively. There were no corn stocks in NFA depositories as of September 2018,” the
PSA said.
“Compared with last month, corn stock in the households was almost twice from the previous month’s level of 70,210 MT. However, commercial stocks dropped by 65.51 percent. As of August 2018, there were also no stocks in NFA depositories,” the PSA added.