Rice stocks good for 46 days

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s rice stock inventory as of September is sufficent for 46 days, data released by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) showed.

As of Sept. 1, the country’s total rice stock inventory was 1.53 million metric tons (MT), down 17.7 percent month-on-month but 6.1 percent higher than the record of 1.44 million MT in the same period last year.

Palay harvest is ongoing in most rice-producing provinces such as Isabela.

Of the current stock level, 35 percent are held in households, 32.6 percent are with the commercial warehouses and 32.4 percent are with the NFA depositories.

Corn stock inventory in September, meanwhile, rose 30.1 percent year-on-year and by 88.6 percent month-on-month.

The total corn stock inventory as of Sept. 1 was estimated at 267,400 MT.

About 62.5 percent of this month’s inventory are held in households and 33.8 percent are with the commercial warehouses. The NFA depositories accounted for 3.7 percent of the current stock level.

September stocks in all sectors went up month-on-month. Household stocks grew 223.2 percent, those in NFA depositories are up 85.2 percent, and those in commercial warehouses rose 6.6 percent.

Compared with last year’s levels, stocks in all sectors also went up. Household stock grew 24.3 percent, while those in commercial warehouses by 27.5 percent.

Those in NFA depositories increased from 2,900 MT in the same period last year to 10,000 MT.