No Rice Import Ban Amid El Niño, DA Says

AGRICULTURE Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said on Tuesday the Department of Agriculture (DA) will not ban rice imports during the looming El Niño. Speaking on the sidelines of the DA and Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) market inspection at the New Las Piñas City Public Market, Mr. Laurel told reporters that the country needs to have enough reserves of rice in anticipation of the impact of El Niño, noting that 3.3 million metric tons of imported rice are currently in stock. “There is a big El Niño coming towards November-December and technically, we have to have buffer stocks in preparation for January, February, March, April next year,” Mr. Laurel told reporters. Mr. Laurel assured that despite challenges facing the agriculture such as rising prices and El Niño, the DA and the DTI are “managing things quite well.” “There are external forces that we can’t do anything about, like oil prices, transport, logistics. Of course, there’s also El Niño, but what I can say is we are ready,” Mr. Laurel said. “We have stocked up a bit. The reason we have 3.3 million today is because we have stocked up. We have something stored for a rainy day,” he added. Mr. Laurel said the National Food Authority (NFA) is prepared to buy 500,000 tons of palay (unmilled rice) from farmers to offset the possible drop in farmgate prices during the harvest. He noted that 50-60% of rice stocks have been cleared out, adding that the agency has to finish off more stock while maintaining a small buffer. “Unlike last year where our warehouses were full, the NFA was instructed that by September, their warehouses should be almost empty. That’s why it’s important for us to increase the volume of the P20 rice so that the warehouses can be vacated and we can buy (palay) at the right price,” Mr. Laurel said. Mr. Laurel noted that the DA’s budget to buy palay was P20 billion this year, against the P9 billion allotted last year, saying “that will surely help our farmers.” He added that the NFA is set to buy wet palay at P21 per kilogram and dry palay at P25 to P27 per kilogram. — Marron Joshua F. Mendoza