DA sees rice production hike at 1.1% in Q1

MANILA – As the El Niño phenomenon continues to affect many parts of the country, the Department of Agriculture (DA) projected around a 1.1 percent increase in rice production for the first quarter of the year.

At the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing on Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the incremental increase would help lower import volumes contrary to the March 2024 forecast of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The total production is expected to reach about 4.78 million metric tons (MT), Laurel said.

"Ang palay natin first quarter ay tataas ng (our palay for the first quarter will increase by) 1.1 percent compared to last year. So, the total production should reach about 4.78 million metric tons (MT) dahil na rin sa tuyong panahon (because of the dry season)," he said.

The USDA projected a 4.1 million MT import volume this year, which the DA chief described as a "worst-case scenario".

But Laurel was optimistic that the country would not have to reach that level, adding that rice production seemed to be OK despite the phenomenon.

"If you may recall, 2022 ang (the) imports statistics is 3.8 million eh; last year it went down to 3.5 million metric tons. So, I think, hopefully, hindi tayo aabot sa (we will not reach) 4 million metric tons this year since production seems to be okay even with El Niño," Laurel said.

The El Niño phenomenon has so far left P2.63 billion worth of agricultural loss in the Philippines, with the highest damage accounted for rice worth P1.72 billion.

Laurel, meanwhile, assured that the DA's efforts to procure the country's rice buffer stock through the National Food Authority (NFA), remain uncompromised.

"We are managing with our limited resources and manpower, nama-manage naman nang maayos ang NFA (the NFA is being managed well) as of the moment," he said.

In an earlier interview at the Food Security Cluster Communication Workshop in PhilRice, Science City Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, Laurel said that the operation of 97 NFA warehouses remained suspended amid the ongoing probe on the alleged questionable selling of rice buffer stocks to select traders.

Despite this, the agri chief said farmers may continue to sell their harvested palay to the NFA.

To date, the NFA's buying price is pegged at P23 per kilogram, lower than the average buying
price of traders set at P27/kg to P30/kg.

The NFA needs to secure around 300,000 metric tons of rice for national buffer stock. (PNA)