RP may import more rice–Yap

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines, the world’s biggest rice buyer, may import more of the grain to fill its needs for the first half of 2010 after two storms wreaked havoc on rice fields, a top government official said yesterday.

“I am not worried about rice shortage for 2009 because we have enough buffer stock. But, we’re watching the impact for the first and second quarters of 2010,” Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap told a local radio.

“If needed, we will import rice.”

Yap did not say when the imports will be made or where the country will buy the grain, but in past years, the Philippines has signed import deals for the following year during the last quarter of the preceding year.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered the agriculture department to import food items if necessary, presidential spokesperson Cerge Remonde said in a separate radio interview.

Apart from rice, Yap said there might be a need to import chicken and pork to address a looming supply shortage ahead of the expected pick-up in demand during the Christmas holidays.

Vietnam and Thailand are traditional rice suppliers to the Philippines. But since last year the Philippines has bought the bulk of its needs from Vietnam, including 1.5 million tons in an inter-government deal earlier this year.

So far, the Philippines has imported 1.775 million tons of milled rice in 2009, versus a record 2.3 million tons in 2008 which helped drive grain prices to all-time highs.

Before the storms hit the country, an industry official in Vietnam said in August that Hanoi may have struck a new pact to sell 400,000 tons of rice to the Philippines.

Yap said the country, which imports around 10 percent of its annual rice needs, had enough stocks of the national staple until year-end.

Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana) had destroyed 285,000 tons of paddy rice, said Yap, equivalent to up to five days worth of consumption.

But, the government has a buffer stock of 30-35 days until the end of 2009, he added.

“We are waiting for the water level to subside and determine the extent of the damage on rice farms,” Yap said.

So far, damage to crops, mostly rice, had reached P5.5 billion.

The country was hoping to harvest a record 17.45 million tons of paddy rice for all of 2009, with first-half output at 7.38 million tons.

On Saturday, the National Food Authority said the government’s rice stocks stood at 1.26 million tons, good for 36 days consumption.

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