Rice, corn stocks up in September
THE country’s rice and corn inventory posted significant increases as of September 1, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In its monthly inventory report, the PSA said the country’s rice stocks reached 1.842 million metric tons (MMT), a 57.9-percent increase from 1.167 MMT in September 2018. Month-on-month, it went up by 13.7 percent from the earlier 2.133 MMT.
Stocks in National Food Authority (NFA) depositories jumped by 268.6 percent to 409,530 MT yearon-year. Stocks in households and commercial warehouses rose by 10.3 percent to 673,100 MT and 70.5 percent to 759,740 MT, respectively.
On a monthly basis, stocks in commercial warehouses and households increased by 13.7 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, NFA depositories expanded by 11.2 percent.
Of the total rice inventory, 36.5 percent were from households, 41.2 percent from commercial warehouses and 22.2 percent from NFA depositories.
The increase in rice stocks was attributed to the implementation of Republic Act 11203, or the “Rice
of cheap imported rice.
Government data showed that the country’s rice imports has reached 2.4 MMT since the passage of the law in February.
In the same report, the PSA said the country’s total corn stocks climbed by 44.7 percent to 768,660 MT as of September 1. This was also higher by 6.2 percent from the 724,080-MT inventory in August.
Year-on-year, corn stocks from households and commercial warehouses grew by 59.5 percent to 213,410 MT and 39.8 percent to 555,240 MT, respectively. There were no corn stocks in NFA depositories recorded during the period.
Compared to their month-ago levels, total corn stocks in households were higher by 128.7 percent, while those from commercial warehouses increased by 12 percent.
Some 72.2 percent of the total corn inventory was held by commercial warehouses and the remaining 27.8 percent, by households.
Data on household rice and corn stocks come from the and Corn Stocks Survey, which covers farming and non-farming households, while commercial ones come from registered grains businessmen through the Commercial Stocks Survey, the PSA said. NFA stocks, on the other hand, are monitored from their warehouses or depositories.