Yet, there is need to import rice due mainly to a compelling reason – that of the seasonality of rice harvest which is very low in the quarter called “lean months”.
“We have rice stock of almost three million metric tons in the first quarter of 2018,” according to an official statement by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) here.
“This is enough for 87 days of the needs of the country’s 105 million population.”
The statement was issued by the institute to provide concrete facts on the issues of rice shortage in the country and on the need to import rice.
A team of PhilRice economists, led by deputy executive director Flordeliza Bordey, collected data and made computations for a study of rice security, self-sufficiency and competitiveness, and the need for policy adoption.
In the study, Phil-Rice said the country achieved the highest ever rice production last year at 19.3 million metric tons of palay.
This was equivalent, it said, to 12.5 million mt of milled rice and, together with the 900,000 mt of imported rice and the carry over stock of 2.7 million mt from 2017, the stock was 16.1 million mt in the first quarter of this year.
The needed volume for consumption, including those needed for raw materials for value-added products, animal feed, and wastage, totals to only 13.1 million mt. Per capita, the consumption of Filipinos is at 110 kg per year, it said.
This rice stock will be further boosted by the expected 2.9 million mt harvest in the first quarter of this year.
“Even if we consumed all the 3.2 million mt of rice for consumption and other needs for this cereal, there is still a big balance for the needs in the coming second quarter,” the Phil-Rice statement said.
But it said there is need to import rice. It is very important for everybody to understand why this is so, it added.
“It is needed for the effective management of the supply and demand of rice especially to guard the sudden fluctuation of its selling price. It should be understood that there is seasonality of rice production in the country which is 23 percent in the first quarter, 21 percent in the second quarter, 16 percent in the third quarter, and 40 percent in the fourth quarter,” PhilRice explained.
From this, it said, it can be clearly seen that the bulk of the palay harvest is at the fourth quarter of the year. It added that the “demand (for milled rice) every quarter does not diminish”.
“Therefore, the timing for the importation is of the essence as the stock of rice goes down especially during the third quarter which constitute the lean months,” Phil-Rice averred.
The PhilRice study also said that the price of rice imported from Vietnam is only at P27 per kg including the tariff.
This is way, way below the selling price of locally produced rice, it said.
“Based on our studies, our farmers spend P12 to produce one kilogram of palay while in Vietnam it is only P6.
That’s why our (dried) palay’s ex-farm price is at P17 per kg while in Vietnam it is only P12 per kilogram,” the Phil- Rice statement said.
Based on this, Phil- Rice said, the raw material for milled rice is very much cheaper in Vietnam than in the Philippines.
In this regard, Phil-Rice said there is need for the local farmers to be competitive in so far as rice production is concerned.
They may be producing enough rice but if their product is not affordable, it may not be appealing to the buying public.
“What is needed is to increase some more rice production in the country and at the same time bring down the cost of production. Policies should be adopted to address this issue,” Phil-Rice said.
