Rice inventory up 30.8% in March
Credit to Author: EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ| Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2019 16:18:41 +0000
THE country’s rice inventory rose by 30.87 percent to 2.221 million metric tons (MT) at the start of March from its year-ago level, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
It was also up by 3.75 percent compared to month-ago figure, the PSA said in its monthly inventory report.
Latest figures from the PSA said rice stocks were at 1.697 million MT in the same period in 2018 and 2.141 million MT in February this year.
Year-on-year (yoy), a 1,030.17 percent jump was noted in NFA depositories. Rice stocks in commercial warehouses were also up by 25.75 percent. Stocks inhouseholds fell by 6.08 percent though.
Month-on-month, stocks in households and NFA depositories grew by 0.12 percent and 65.29 percent, respectively but those in commercial houses dropped by 14.22 percent.
Of the total rice inventories, 46.53 percent were from households, 31.32 percent from the commercial warehouses and 22.15 percent from NFA depositories.
The total rice inventory is seen to increase in the coming months as the country opens its market to cheap imported rice under a new rice regime. Philippine rice imports may hit a record-high 2.6 million MT this year. It may further increase as the Rice Import Liberalization Act takes full effect, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.
Meanwhile, total corn stocks rose by 42.68 percent to 397,120 MT in March from 278,340 MT a year ago, but fell by 49.19 percent from 781.52 MT in the previous month.
Inventory from households and commercial warehouses climbed yoy by 55.36 percent and 38.25 percent, respectively. On a monthly basis, stocks in households and commercial warehouses fell by 23.01 percent and 55.19 percent, respectively.
Some 71.71 percent of the total corn inventory was held by commercial warehouses while the remaining 28.29 percent consisted of inventory from households.
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