DA exec: Reco to import rice for inventory stocks amid unforeseen events By ANNA FELICIA BAJO, GMA Integrated News

An official from the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday said rice importation is still necessary even though the administration already ensured that there is sufficient supply. According to Agriculture Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla, this additional supply would be allocated for the country's inventory stocks in case of unforeseen events. "Indeed supply is available and sufficient but we need to have additional for inventory stocks for unforeseen events and prepare for El Niño in case this advances to affect the dry season rice production," Sombilla told GMA News Online. "[Please] note all imports are going to be done by private sector and imports to arrive before the wet season harvesting," she added. The DA earlier called for the importation of 500,000 metric tons (MT) of rice from November 2023 to January 2024 to ensure rice supply amid the El Niño phenomenon. Sombilla had said that some 200,000 hectares of rice area might not be cultivated during the El Niño, resulting in lost production of about 500,000 MT of rice. This came despite the pronouncement of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who sits as Agriculture chief, that there will be enough rice stock even after the El Niño phenomenon next year. "The rice situation is manageable and stable. There is enough rice for the Philippines up to and after the El Niño next year," Marcos said in a press statement issued last week. In a separate response to GMA News Online, DA Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian backed the President's remark. "The President's statement is correct. Our wet season harvest of October to November is enough to last even after peak El Niño, which is December 2023 and January 2024," Sebastian said. However, echoing Sombilla’s statement, the DA executive for rice matters said the plan to import 500,000 MT "will augment the supply and provide bigger buffer stock until the next harvest of March and April 2024." "That is already available to provide the additional buffer," Sebastian said. Asked for the Palace's side on the importation, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil referred to the earlier message of DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban that "this will hopefully pave the way for the country to get better terms for the additional 300,000 to 500,000MT rice importation for this year." Panganiban also said before that the importation would "help lower prices as it will further beef up our national inventory which, even without importation, is good to last for 52 to 57 days by end of 2023." Sombilla also recommended that the private sector should import 300,000 MT by the end of August, and another 300,000 MT by the first to the second week of September as the harvest season will begin in October. Earlier, Panganiban said that the Philippines has opened talks with Vietnam and India for the importation of hundreds of thousands of metric tons of rice to augment supply and decrease prices. As a result of continuing talks, Panganiban had said that "some Vietnamese exporters have quoted our private traders $30-$40 lower since our [last] meeting in Malacañang." "The DA will also work with the government of India to allow imports on humanitarian grounds," he said. He added that the talks "will hopefully pave the way for the country to get better terms for the additional 300,000 to 500,000 metric tons of rice importation for this year." — with Ted Cordero/RSJ, GMA Integrated News