PH rice imports surge in first 2 months of 2024

 A worker arranges sacks of rice at a local rice store in Quezon City, October 4, 2023. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA - Philippine rice imports surged in the first two months of the year, according to data from an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture.

The DA's Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) said the country has already imported more than 569,000 metric tons of rice this year, which is 44 percent higher compared to 394,553 MT in the same period last year.

Philippines is now world's top rice importer, says USDA

Industry group says PH may not need to import as much rice as USDA forecast

More than 424,000 MT arrived in January, while more than 144,000 MT arrived in the first half of February.

This was still significantly smaller than the 2.4 million metric tons of rice imports expected for the first two months of the year.

The BPI earlier said that arrivals are usually lower than the expected volume, since some shipments are delayed.

The DA earlier said that the country has sufficient rice supply to meet demand until the next harvest season.

But the agency also said it wanted more imports since El Niño poses a challenge to rice production.

The impact of El Niño on production volume is yet to be fully seen, but the DA said it expects this to be minimal.

Some agricultural groups have criticized what they say is the heavy reliance on imports of the DA, and have called for more aid to local farmers to boost domestic yields.