Rice stocks soar 14% in May, bolstering PH food security

The country’s rice inventory jumped by 14 percent to over two million metric tons (MT) in May, aligning with the government’s ongoing efforts to ensure food sufficiency and stabilize prices.

- BY DEXTERE BARRO II

In its latest report, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said rice stocks stood at 2.37 million MT as of May 1, up from 2.08 million MT in the same month last year.

Month-on-month, the volume of rice stocks inched up by one percent from the 2.34 million MT recorded in April.

PSA data showed that 49.4 percent of the total rice stocks were from households, 33.9 percent were from the commercial sector, and 16.8 percent from the warehouses of the National Food Authority (NFA).

As of May 1, rice stocks in house-holds increased by 35 percent to 1.17 million MT compared to 863,770 MT in the same month last year.