National rice stocks at the start of May were estimated at 2.37 million metric tons, marking a 14 percent increase compared to the same period last year. This growth was primarily driven by the aggressive palay procurement efforts of the National Food Authority (NFA).
According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, NFA’s rice stocks—equivalent to 397,210 metric tons or roughly 7.94 million 50-kilo bags—were nearly six times higher than the 69,350 metric tons held at the start of May last year. The NFA stock level has since risen in excess of 8.2 million metric tons.
Meanwhile, rice stocks held by households rose by 36 percent to 1.17 million metric tons. This increase contributed to a sharp 30 percent decline in reserves held by commercial traders, which dropped to 803,440 metric tons.
Overall, the current rice stock level is up 1.3 percent from the 2.34 million metric tons recorded the previous month.
On the other hand, the country’s total corn stocks stood at 671,100 metric tons during the same period, down 5.6 percent from last year. However, corn stocks saw a month-on-month increase of 2.7 percent from April’s 653,350 metric tons.
