2024 rice imports hit 570,000 MT

The country's rice imports have reached almost 570,000 metric tons as of mid-February, surpassing the total imported volume in the first two months of last year by over 40 percent.

- JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

Latest Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) data showed that rice imports as of Feb. 16 hit 569,286 MT, about 44.28 percent higher than the 394,553 MT combined volume imported in January and February of last year.

BPI data showed that more than half of the rice imports or about 327,418.09 MT came from Vietnam, followed by Thailand at 154,234.38 MT and Pakistan at 60,638.3 MT.

Other rice suppliers to the Philippines during the reference period were Myanmar, Cambodia, Japan, India and Italy. In terms of import arrival, Bly Agri Venture Trading led the 92 rice importers with a total import volume of 262,284 MT as of Feb. 16, followed by Orison Free Enterprise Inc. at 241,711.88 MT and Davao Solar Best Corp. at 223,808 MT, based on BPI data.

The increase in rice imports could have been caused by traders and importers hedging that global rice prices could still rise in the coming months, Raul Montemayor of Federation of Free Farmers said.