RICE STOCKS as of the start of July were estimated at 1.99 million metric tons (MT), down year-on-year and month-on-month, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
PSA’s Rice and Corn Stocks Inventory report released on Friday showed stocks as of July 1 were 15.21% lower from 2.35 million MT a year ago and 15.68% down from the previous month’s 2.36 million MT inventory.
Household stocks made up 49.85% of the total inventories, followed by warehouses with a 47.47% share. The National Food Authority (NFA) cornered the remaining 2.68%, with 48.78% of its stocks from rice imports.
The rice stocks as of July 1 are considered sufficient for about 62 days, a drop from last June 1 when stocks were deemed sufficient for nearly 74 days.
However, unlike last month when NFA’s stocks could barely last a day, the agency’s latest inventory is estimated to last for about a day on the back of the ongoing unloading of imported rice, which has been hampered by poor weather.
The NFA is mandated to maintain at least 15 days’ worth of buffer stock at any given time and at least 30 days’ worth of buffer stock for lean months, which starts every July.
All three sectors posted year-on-year drops, with the NFA recording the sharpest at 65.60%. The commercial sector’s stocks dropped 21.12%, while household inventories slid 0.24%.
Likewise, corn stocks as of July 1 stood at 480,860 MT, lower by 29.66% year-on-year and 18.78% month-on-month.
Corn inventory declined year-on-year in all three sectors. Household stocks slid 7.03%, while commercial and NFA stocks dropped 31.42% and 100%, respectively.
Month-on-month, the PSA reported a 22.88% drop in commercial warehouse corn stocks which offset the 29.25% increase in household stocks. — A.G.A. Mogato

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