THE Department of Agriculture (DA) yesterday said it expects prices and supplies of rice and other basic commodities to remain stable for the Christmas season and the New Year.
In a briefing for the House Committee on Agriculture, DA assistant secretary Arnel de Mesa said their latest monitoring shows well-milled rice is currently selling at P45 per kilo while regular milled is P41 per kilo. Prices are expected to rise in December to P48 per kilo for well-milled rice and P41 to P43 per kilo for regular-milled variety.
De Mesa reported that from July to September this year, there was a modest growth in stocks of 0.22 percent from 3.789 million metric tons the year before to 3.797 million metric tons.
For the first three quarters, total production grew 2.32 percent to 12.8 million metric tons.
As of now, the country still has rice stocks for 80 days which could grow to 90 days or until 2024 once imports come in.
“For the dry season lean months which is mid-January to mid-February, we still have ample supply going into first quarter. Our projection is 90 days right now, it’s 80 days without additional imports,” de Mesa said.
De Mesa said the country is importing 176,000 metric tons in the fourth quarter though generally, the country imported less rice this year than last year.
De Mesa said they also expect harvests to improve.
While onion production for the third quarter is minimal, it will be offset by production in the fourth quarter which should be complemented by imports.
The price of red onion is P140 to 150 per kilo for the local variety.
Newly-appointed DA secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel confirmed the data.
“I confirm that the price of sibuyas pula today is P140 and sibuyas puti is P110. I’m closely monitoring this and we will do action para ‘di na mangyari ‘yung nangyari nung nakaraang taon,” Laurel said.
Meanwhile, De Mesa said they expect more than 300,000 metric tons of pork but they will also be expecting imports, citing the high demand from industrial users.
He said there is more than enough production of chicken and chicken eggs to meet needs.
However, there may be a 38-day deficiency in fish in the fourth quarter without additional imports. There was a reduction in fish catch in the third quarter because many were not able to fish, he said. (ABS-CBN News)
