Rice loading for export at the SSIC Port in Ho Chi Minh City. (Source: VNA)The Philippines’ National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is seeking President Aquino’s approval to import up to 1.5 million tonnes of rice in the first quarter of 2016, tripling the volume of the original programme, to ensure enough supply and keep prices stable amid the prolonged drought due to El Nino.
The Inquirer.net quoted NEDA Director-General and Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan on October 14 as saying that the intervention forms part of the proposed Roadmap to Address the Impact of El Nino.
Last week, NEDA submitted to President Aquino a memo listing down the proposed interventions to mitigate the effects of El Nino.
Balisacan said the agency might need to import another one million tonnes of rice to maintain a 45-day buffer stock to prevent rice price rising.
The NEDA chief noted the impact of the El Nino on domestic rice production in 1997 and 1998, saying that in 1998 alone, rice production declined by almost 25 percent mainly as a result of droughts.
The government may directly import the additional rice or half of it will be bought by the private sector, he said, stressing the need for an adequate rice supply to avoid domestic prices shooting up while world prices are relatively stable.
The government may have to allot up to 19.2 billion pesos (more than 416 million USD) for programmes and projects to mitigate the effects of El Nino starting this year, he said.
The country has imported 1.9 million tonnes of rice so far this year, according to Balisacan.-VNA
