NFA rice stocks only good for 2 weeks

MANILA, Philippines – The rice stocks at the National Food Authority (NFA) is now only good for two weeks or 15 days, according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS).

This is significantly lower than the required 30-day buffer. The NFA’s buffer stock is used especially during times of disasters, shortages due to the lean season when there is no harvest, or price shocks.

In the Rice and Corn Stocks Inventory report, the BAS said the rice inventory of the NFA posted a 62.4% decline as of September 1, 2012. This was the biggest reason for the drop in total rice inventory in the country.

The BAS said the country’s total rice stock inventory as of September 1, 2012 was 1.44 million metric tons (MMT). The volume of stocks was 7.4% below last month’s level of 1.56 MMT and 40.3% lower than last year’s record of 2.41 MMT.

“This month’s stock levels in all sectors were lower compared to last month’s records. Stocks in the households decreased by 11.6%. Those in the commercial warehouses went down by 8.4%. Stocks in NFA depositories of which 43% were imported rice, dropped by 1.9%,” the BAS said.

The country’s total rice stocks as of September 1, 2012 would be good for 43 days. Apart from the NFA, rice stocks in commercial warehouses would be good for 12 days while household stocks would last for 16 days.

Programmed rice importation volume is lower this year. For 2012, the target production was placed at 18.46 million MT of which 500,000 MT would be imported, lower than the importation volume of 860,000 MT in 2011. – Rappler.com

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