Tag: rice

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).

Rice prices continued to ease in early May, indicating a potential further slowdown in inflation after headline inflation decelerated in April to its slowest pace since November 2019.

Inflation in the Philippines could ease further in April, following a drop to 1.8 percent in March—the slowest pace since May 2020—if rice prices continue to decline in the latter half of the month.

The country's rice stocks inventory was estimated at 1.61 million metric tons at the start of March, an 18 percent increase from the 1.37 million metric tons recorded in the same period last year.

Philippine inflation decelerated to 1.8 percent in March, its slowest pace since the 1.6 percent registered in May 2020 when the economic activities was challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns. This decline, down from 2.1 percent in February, was largely driven by lower food prices, particularly rice, which saw a significant annual decrease.