The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) estimated the country’s total rice stocks as of December 1 at 2.55 million metric tons, marking an increase of nearly 35 percent compared to the 1.90 million metric tons recorded during the same period in 2023.
Viewed against November 2024, the rice stocks were 3.6 percent higher, up from 2.46 million metric tons.
The PSA attributed the year-on-year increase to a significant build-up of buffer stocks by the National Food Authority (NFA) and an uptick in inventory from the commercial sector. This was driven by higher purchases from importers, following the reduction of the tariff on rice imports to 15 percent from 35 percent in July.
The rice stocks inventory showed substantial annual increases, with NFA depositories rising by 152.1 percent and commercial sector stocks growing by 77.1 percent. However, household stocks saw a decrease of 9.0 percent year-on-year.
Compared to November 2024 levels, the commercial sector’s rice stocks increased by 6.3 percent, while NFA depositories saw a smaller rise of 1.7 percent.
As of December 1, the breakdown of total rice stocks was as follows: 59.1 percent from the commercial sector, 35.2 percent from households, and 5.6 percent from NFA depositories.
