With no choice, NFA willing to delay rice importation until second half

State-run grains agency National Food Authority (NFA) is now all alone in fighting for rice importation. This, after agencies like National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and Department of Agriculture (DA) agreed the country has more than enough rice.

"The market is full of rice," Mercedita Sombilla, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Environment Staff, said yesterday.

She said it after agreeing that the NFA Council may delay discussions on rice importation until before we enter the second half of the year or before the lean months begin, which starts in July until September.

Unless, it becomes "very necessary" that we bring in imported rice, Sombilla added.

Part of the NFA Council, the highest policy-making body of the NFA, sources said NEDA always has the most influence when it comes to giving go signal on rice importation.

To recall, NFA spokesperson Rebecca Olarte earlier said the agency will attempt again this month to get the Council's approval to use its “standby authority” to import up to 250,000 metric tons (MT) of milled rice.

This is to replenish NFA's depleting stocks, which are now good to last for 35 days based on actual distribution.

The NFA is required by law to have at least 15-day buffer stock at any given time and 30-day buffer stock during lean season.

The next NFA Council meeting is on February 20 but a source said there would be a special meeting on February 12 (Monday) to discuss this particular issue.

"The NFA council did not say NFA will not import. In fact, they were given the authority to import in case it is badly needed," Sombilla said.

"Right now, while their stocks maybe low, the Council sees the need to import is not that urgent — there is so much supply available in the market and prices have been more or less stable — there are areas that may have prices rising a bit higher but that could eventually be stabilized by market forcesprivate sector going into those markets. There is bumper harvest and part of the 2017 MAV [Minimum Access Volume] is coming in," she added.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol agreed to this, coming up with a firm statement for his part.

"Contrary to reports that there is a looming rice shortage because the NFA has not brought in imported rice, there is actually a huge inventory of locally harvested rice," Piñol said.

"The scare tactics will not stand a chance against statistics," he added.

Based on the data provided by Department of Agriculture's (DA) Field Operations head Undersecretary Ariel Cayanan, the estimated buffer stocks by the end of the first quarter of 2018 stood around 3 million metric tons (MT), which would be enough to supply the daily consumption of 31,450 MT per day for 96 days.

Piñol said the 96-day buffer stock is one of the biggest rice inventories of the country in recent years and this was the result of a bumper harvest of 19.4 million MT for 2017, a record harvest for the country.

By the end of 2017, rice stocks in warehouses and home storages were recorded at 2.7 million MT, which would be good for 88 days of supply.

In the first quarter of this year, the production forecast is placed at 3.067 million MT of milled rice, which when added to the buffer rice stocks carried over from 2017, would place the first quarter rice supply at 5.8 million MT.

"I have nothing against importation. If it's legal, if it's for the NFA's supply of buffer stocks, I'm fine with it, but let's not twist the truth. There is no shortage of rice," Piñol further said.

The DA chief then called on the price regulatory bodies of government to check on the uncontrolled pricing of commercial rice in the market.

"DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] should come in and put a cap on price of rice in the market. [We should follow] the rule of thumb. The buying price of palay times two should be the price of rice in the market so it should be just around R36 per kilo. But how much is the price of rice right now? R40 per kilo, R50 per kilo," Piñol said.