PH set to receive over 500k MT of imported rice from December to February.
The Philippines expects to receive over 500,000 metric tons (MT) of imported rice from Taiwan and India from December this year to February 2024, as the government prepares for the adverse effects of El Niño, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
‘We received reports that around 100,000 tons of imported rice has already arrived in the country. This is part of the 495,000 metric tons committed by import permit holders to Secretary (Francisco) Tiu Laurel,’ DA Undersecretary OIC for operations Roger Navarro said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Indian government committed 495,000 MT of rice to the Philippines while 40,000 bags of imported rice will come from Taiwan, totaling over half a million metric tons in compliance with the agreement between the agriculture chief and holders of rice import permits.
Some76,000 MT from the two countries are scheduled to arrive this December through early January, the DA said.
The Indian government committed 495,000 MT of rice to the Philippines while 40,000 bags of imported rice will come from Taiwan, totaling over half a million metric tons in compliance with the agreement between the agriculture chief and holders of rice import permits.
Some76,000 MT from the two countries are scheduled to arrive this December through early January, the DA said.
Delivery of the first batch of 20,000 bags of rice or 1,000 MT was completed before Christmas Day, part of the 40,000 bags committed by Taiwan
The DA said the incoming imports and the locally harvested rice will be sufficient for the country’s supply until the harvest season starts in March.
In July, the Indian government banned the export of its non-basmati white rice to protect its domestic rice supplies. It however resumed exporting in October with more than a million metric tons of rice to seven countries, of which 28% of the portion was allocated to the Philippines.
Last September, Malacañang issued an executive order implementing a rice price ceiling in the country after it detected a price surge.
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‘The BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) has aggressively raised interest rates since last year to tame inflation, which affects the purchasing power of consumers and undermines economic growth,’ the DA concluded.
The DA noted that 36,000 metric tons per day, or around 1.08 million tons per month is the national rice consumption of Filipinos.
This article has been republished from The cnnphillipines.