PHL rice stocks down 4.5% in March–report

THE country’s rice inventory as of March 1 declined by 4.5 percent to 2.08 million metric tons (MMT) from 2.178 MMT recorded a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

“Likewise, rice stocks inventory dropped by 5.2 percent from the previous month’s level of 2.193 [MMT],” the PSA said in its monthly stock report published recently.

PSA data showed that the bulk or about 59.1 percent of the rice inventory as of March 1 was stored in households while 28.1 percent were in the commercial warehouses. The remaining 12.8 percent were stored in National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses.

Figures from the agency also showed that total rice inventory held by households during the period reached 1.23 MMT while commercial warehouses and NFA accounted for 584,660 metric tons (MT) and 265,320 MT, respectively.

“Relative to the previous year’s level, rice stocks in the households grew by 25.4 percent. On the other hand, rice stocks from commercial warehouses and NFA depositories were reduced by 18.3 percent and 44.9 percent, respectively,” the

PSA report read.

“In comparison with the previous month’s level, rice stocks in the households rose by 4.1 percent. Stocks in commercial warehouses decreased by 17.5 percent and in NFA depositories by 12.3 percent.”

In the same report, the PSA said the country’s total corn inventory as of March 1 fell by 20.8 percent to 628,370 MT from 793,280 MT recorded last year.

“Similarly, this recorded a decrease of 18.9 percent from the previous month’s level of 774,830 [MT],” the PSA added.

The agency said the bulk or about 68 percent of the total corn stocks inventory was held by commercial warehouses while the remaining 32 percent were in households.

It added that total corn stocks held by households reached 201,210 MT while the remaining 427,160 MT were stored in commercial warehouses.

“Corn stocks in all sectors for this month contracted by 0.8 percent in the household and by 27.7 percent in commercial warehouses compared with the record in the same period of the previous year.”

“Compared with the preceding month’s level, corn stocks in both household and commercial warehouses contracted by 10.3 percent and 22.4 percent, respectively.”