President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the Philippines has a sufficient rice supply, assuring that his administration is taking measures to control its price.
After meeting with officials from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and National Food Authority (NFA), President Marcos stated that the rice supply situation in the country looks promising and there won't be a shortage in the upcoming months.
"Mukha namang maganda ang sitwasyon natin. Hindi tayo magkukulang sa bigas. At tinitingnan natin lahat ng paraan upang ang presyo ay ma-control natin at hindi naman masyadong tataas," he said.
However, he pointed out that the NFA needs to purchase buffer stocks from local producers, which drives up the price of rice, but the government is trying to find a way to adjust this.
"Magpa-plano kami kung kailangan mag-import, kung kailangan magpahaba, magparami ng buffer stock sa NFA dahil masyado ng mababa. ‘Yun lang ang nakita naming problema, mababa ‘yung buffer stock ng NFA. Kailangan bumili ‘yung NFA para umabot siya ng at least nine days na buffer stock," he added.
According to the DA 2023 supply outlook, the total supply of rice in the country is at 16.98 million metric tons (MMT), which is considered to be sufficient for the whole year's demand estimated at 15.29 MMT.
The DA has estimated that the country's total rice supply, at 16.98 million metric tons (MMT), is sufficient to cover this year's demand, at 15.29 MMT, but there is a proposed importation of 330,000 MT of rice to cover expected deficits.
The NFA proposes that the importation arrangement be undertaken through government-to-government transactions, and may use its credit lines to finance the importation.
