By Liezelle Soriano
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has assured the public that the country has enough rice supply until next year due to a “bumper harvest” during the wet season, stressing that they do not see any movement of rice prices in the market.
“Mataas o bumper iyong ating harvest ngayong wet season. Magmula po noong katapusan ng Agosto, ngayong Setyembre hanggang Oktubre, hanggang sa Nobyembre po ay inaasahan po natin na talagang wala po tayong inaasahan na pagsipa pa ng presyo,” Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said during the “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” briefing.
De Mesa furthered that a stable supply of rice began in August this year, and is expected to last until next month.
“So, maaasahan po natin na maganda at malaki po iyong national inventory natin ng bigas … Maasahan po natin na talagang sapat at maganda at matatag po ang supply ng bigas natin na maaasahan po natin hanggang sa pagpasok po ng susunod na taon na 2024,” he said.
De Mesa said that the government is also working on reducing the cost of production in the Philippines in order to ensure the affordable prices of basic commodities in the market.
Meanwhile, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) said that the Philippines may lose 1.46 million metric tons of rice due to the onset of El Niño.
The estimated loss was calculated using the 267,000 hectares of rice fields that could be harmed by the dry period.
(ai/mnm)
