DA Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian (Screengrab from Laging Handa briefing)
MANILA – The country has a sufficient supply of rice at over 7 million metric tons, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported on Wednesday.
DA Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian said the harvest during the dry season was "good," with a total yield of 5.7 million metric tons.
Meanwhile, the country's supply of imported rice is at 1.9 million metric tons.
“Our rice supply is more than enough for our needs for the next few months,” the DA official said in a Laging Handa briefing.
“We are at the peak of planting, we expect that this month there will be harvests, and in September there will be many harvests. We have a sufficient supply of rice,” he added.
On the other hand, Sebastian explained that the buffer stock of rice of the National Food Authority (NFA), is different from the stocks of rice for the whole country.
“Before the government get its (rice) supply from the NFA but now, the latter only maintains a small number since their supply is only for emergency,” he said.
“The private sector is now allowed to import rice,” the undersecretary added.
At the same time, Sebastian urged farmers who were affected by Typhoon Egay to seek assistance from the DA, as they are ready to supply them with seedlings.
He also urged them to maximize food production during this period by growing vegetables. (PNA)
