Rice stocks up in February

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s rice inventory maintained its upward momentum in February, given a continued open market regime.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that total rice inventory stood at 2.37 million metric tons (MT) in February, up 11 percent from the previous year.

However, the current inventory is 11.2 percent lower than last year’s 2.67 million MT.

The PSA did not specify the number of days that the stock inventory of Filipinos’ main staple will be sufficient.

But based on the average daily consumption of Filipinos of 32,000 MT, the current inventory is sufficient for 74 days.

Households had nearly half of total inventories at 44 percent, while commercial warehouses held about 35.4 percent. Supplies from the National Food Authority depositories cornered 20.6 percent of the total.

On a monthly basis, rice stocks in households and commercial warehouses decreased by 12.7 percent and 11.6 percent, respectively.

A 6.9 percent decrease was also noted in NFA depositories.

Meanwhile, prices of Filipinos’ main staple continued to be on the downward trend with consumers saving more, but farmers earning less following the influx of imported rice.

Data showed consistent lower prices for a year now after the Philippines opened its rice industry to more private sector imports.

According to the PSA, the average wholesale price of well-milled rice is now at P37.19 per kilogram as of end-February.

This is 10 percent lower than the P41.17 per kilo in the same period a year ago but 0.4 percent higher on a weekly basis.

The average retail price also decreased by eight percent to P41.24 per kilo.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price of regular-milled rice was P32.77 per kilo, down 13 percent while its average retail price was at P36.16 a kilo.

While consumers are benefitting from the opening up of the market, local farmers are suffering from declining palay (unhusked rice) farm gate prices.

The average farm gate price of palay is nowhere near recovery at P16.04 per kilo, down 0.1 percent on a weekly basis.

The current price represents a decline of  18 percent from  P19.55 per kilo last year.