THE SUPPLY and pricing of rice are stable despite the importation ban and the devastation caused by recent tropical cyclones, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
“Kahit nagkaroon tayo ng import ban ay maganda ang supply ng bigas natin. At kahit binagyo tayo, ine-expect natin na naging maganda ang harvest din natin hanggang sa katapusan ng taon,” DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in an interview on Dobol B TV over the weekend.
He added: “Dahil maganda ang ine-expect nating harvest at malapit na rin ang susunod na harvest season na March-April plus may papasok na import na, mas lalong tatatag ang presyo ng ating bigas and at the same time ‘yung supply,” he added.
De Mesa said the record rice harvest in 2023 may even be surpassed this year.
“May posibilidad na malagpasan natin ‘yung 2023 record harvest. But of course we have to wait ‘yung official na datos para du’n sa harvest,” he said.
De Mesa added that the record harvest in 2023 was 20.06 million metric tons.
The DA spokesperson said the closing rice inventory of the country is expected to last for 80 to 85 days on the low end of the target, or a little over 100 days on the high end of the target.
The country’s daily consumption is at around 37,000 metric tons, de Mesa said.
He also said the country will again import rice in January.
“Mag-open na rin tayo ng importation by January. Depende du’n sa lalabas na datos kung gaano karami ‘yung magiging importation, hanggang magkaroon ulit tayo ng harvest by March or April,” he said.
De Mesa said currently, only locally produced rice are available since the rice import ban took effect in September
Premium imported rice, if still available, goes for around P50 per kilo, while special imported rice such as jasmine and Japanese rice varieties may be around P60 per kilo.
Locally produced premium rice, meanwhile, currently retails for around P50 per kilo, he added.
The government, De Mesa said, will monitor the rice importation per month to ensure that the country does not import more than what is needed which could lead to farmgate prices going down, he added.
Current farmgate prices of palay are at P17 to P18 per kilo, de Mesa said. (GMA Integrated News)
