Rice inventory up 6.4% year-over-year, down 15.7% from Dec

The national rice inventory rose to 2.16 million metric tons (MMT) in January, marking a 6.4% increase year over year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

However, this represents a 15.7% decrease from December's level of 2.56 MMT.

The National Food Authority (NFA) reported a significant rise in rice holdings at its depositories by 485.1% compared to January last year, with household stock increasing by 5.4%. The NFA now holds 284,810 metric tons of rice, up from 48,680 MT.

Commercial entities saw their rice inventory decline by 16.55% from the previous year and 46.1% month over month.

NFA Administrator Larry Lacson attributed the surge in national rice buffer stock to a higher buying price scheme for local palay, which allowed them to purchase more from farmers.

The Department of Agriculture aims to release 150,000 MT of NFA rice stocks to local government units and other entities over the next six months under the food security emergency declaration.