President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared on Tuesday that the Philippines would have adequate rice until the El Niño phenomenon peaks next year.
During a meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council and the Philippine Rice Stakeholders Movement in Malacañang, Marcos stated that the rice situation is manageable and stable and that there will be enough rice for the Philippines up to and after the El Niño event next year.
According to a Palace announcement, Agriculture Undersecretary Merceditas Sombillo said that if present production levels are maintained, the country will have a projected rice supply of 1.96 million metric tons (MMT) by the end of the year.
Sombillo said the Philippine Statistics Authority has a greater estimate of 2.12 MMT, which will last for 57 days.
The palay harvest season, according to Malacañang, will begin in September and end in November.
Some stakeholders had already warned that rice prices could rise.
They stated that prices for imported rice from Vietnam, Thailand, and India are rising.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) warned that reduced rainfall levels could reduce rice yields.
The scientists had predicted that El Nio would arrive between the second and third months of the wet season, when water is critical for plant development.
