Phl rice imports seen hitting 3.9MMT

The Philippines will import 3.9 million metric tons of rice for the year, up from the 3.8 MMT estimate last month of the United States Department of Agriculture.

“Total imports are forecast virtually unchanged as an increase for Indonesia and the Philippines offset a decrease for China,” said the Grain: World Markets and Trade report.

“Global consumption is up with more imports for Indonesia and the Philippines,” it said, with the USDA attributing the Philippines’ increase in importation to “strong recent purchases from Vietnam.”

Indonesia incurred the highest increase, from the previous 2.5 MMT forecast last year to 2.9 MMT as of this writing. The increase was linked to “continued large government purchases.”

Other countries that increased their rice trade were Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the US.

Meanwhile, China’s estimated rice imports for this year declined to 2.3 MMT from the previous 2.8 MMT forecast, with the USDA citing “the demand for foreign rice to weaken as domestic prices remain cheaper.”

Amid the El Niño dry spell, the Department of Agriculture assured the public on Thursday that there would be a sufficient rice supply in the first half of this year.

According to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., this is due to recent imports and the nearing harvest, which is expected to peak in March and April.

“We have enough rice supply, so prices should remain stable through the first half of the year. Our priority now is market stability,” Laurel said.

“What we need to guard against now are profiteers who may attempt to exploit the situation by using El Niño as an excuse to hoard the rice supply to push local prices to unreasonably high levels,” he warned.

He noted that rice prices may remain high through September due to the potential effects of the drought on the global rice supply and a possible increase in demand for the crop.