THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is studying a plan to count commercial rice inventory in the national buffer stock estimates.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol told reporters that the DA and National Food Authority have determined that they need commercial stocks because President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s order to maintain a 60-day buffer stock is not possible for the NFA alone.
“The government cannot do it alone because the 60-day buffer stock will be about more than 2 million metric tons. That’s a lot of rice. The government can’t do it,” he added.
“That would be too much money so we’re coming up with a strategy where the government shouldn’t the ones to pay for buffer stocks. The private sector should also (maintain certain inventory levels).”
Under the proposed program, accredited traders will be given import permits in exchange for making half of their domestically procured palay part of the 60-day national inventory.
“This system now we are proposing is a more controlled system which means that there’s a physical inventory for the buffer stock. This means that the [trader’s] palay stocks […] will be used for the buffer” in exchange for participating in the import market, Mr. Piñol said.
Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) said the plan seems to detract from the previous government direction of buying the output of farmers.
To ensure adequate inventory levels, the warehouses participating in the inventory scheme will have to be monitored, Mr. Piñol said.
Mr. Piñol added that the DA now hopes to peg domestic production at “between 95% to 96% of the total national requirement,” ahead of moves to lift the quantitative restrictions (QR) on rice imports.
“If you lift the QR, a lot of imported rice will enter… there will be a negative effect on the rice farmers of the country,”
“[When that happens], Where will you bring your excess rice? We can’t compete with Vietnam when exporting rice and Thailand’s [rice] is much cheaper.” — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
