Rice supply enough until next harvest

The Department of Agriculture, or DA, said the country still has some three months' worth of rice inventory by the end of December in addition to the rice supply sourced from abroad; thus, the supply will be sufficient until the next harvest season.

In a news forum on Saturday, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the government is expecting at least 20 million metric tons of rice before yearend.

"In the end, we're expecting around 85 to 90 days of national stock inventory by the end of December, which is to last until the harvest season come March or April," said De Mesa.

"Of course, imports are expected because our importation system is liberalized. Based on historical data, there will be additional imports during the first quarter," he added.

The DA official said imports as of November reached 3.03 million metric tons — lower compared to last year's 3.5 million MT for the same period.

"Last year ang kabuuan (the total was) is 3.8 [MT]. We're expecting this year mga (around) 3.2, 3.3 million metric tons wala pa iyong (not counting the) Indian rice. So, there will be a slight difference, but we have a stable production," De Mesa said.