Manila sees rice shortfall

Manila sees rice shortfall

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines is expecting a shortfall of about 350,000 tons of rice this year, Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said Saturday.

Asked on a government radio show if the country needed to import rice this year, Panganiban said the government estimated the Philippines could produce nine million tonnes, a shortfall of 350,000 tons.

This shortfall in production would likely appear in March and April, in the dry season when rice harvests drop, he added. Rice needed to make up the shortfall would have to be brought into the country and be available to the public by July 1.