Rice inventory jumps to 5-month high 16.1% to 2.647 MMT as of October 1

THE country’s total rice inventory as of October 1 rose by 16.1 percent to a five- month high of 2.647 million metric tons from last year’s 2.279 MMT, the Philippine Statistics Authority ( PSA) said.

Likewise, the latest rice stocks estimate was 45.2 percent higher than the September record of 1.823 MMT, the PSA added.

“Of this latest rice stocks inventory, 54.8 percent were from households, 36.2 percent were from commercial warehouses, and 9.1 percent were from NFA [National Food Authority] depositories,” the PSA said in its monthly rice and corn inventory report published on Thursday.

Rice stocks held by households reached 1.45 MMT while those stored in commercial warehouses was estimated at 957,750 MT, based on latest PSA data. PSA data also showed that rice kept by the NFA was at 239,890 MT.

“Rice stocks from households and commercial warehouses increased by 37.8 percent and 15.0 percent in contrast with their respective levels in the preceding year. On the other hand, stocks in NFA depositories showed a decrease of 39.2 percent,” it said.

“Relative to the previous month’s level, rice stocks in all sectors showed increments in inventories. In particular, stocks in the households, commercial warehouses, and NFA depositories were up by 70.9 percent, 22.4 percent, and 24.6 percent, respectively,” it added.

The country’s corn inventory, meanwhile, showed mixed trends during the reference period.

Total corn stocks reached 985,540 MT as of October 1 which was 10.1 percent lower than last year’s 1.095 MMT but 23.6 percent higher than September’s 797,370 MT level, according to the PSA.

The PSA said bulk, or about 57.4 percent of the latest corn inventory, was held by commercial warehouses while the remaining 42.6 percent were in households.

The PSA said corn stocks in commercial warehouses stood at 565,230 MT while those in households were at 420,310 MT.

“In contrast with the previous year’s level, stocks in the households rose by 37.7 percent while stocks in commercial warehouses declined by 28.5 percent,” the PSA said.

“This month’s corn stocks inventory levels in both households and commercial warehouses were higher compared with the previous month’s records by 37.7 percent and 14.9 percent, respectively,” the PSA added.