Philippines places rice orders ahead of El Nino
Philippines places rice orders ahead of El Nino
MANILA (Reuters): The Philippines has placed orders for rice from neighbouring countries in preparation for a shortage due to the El Nino weather phenomenon, a senior official said yesterday.
"We have locked in orders for 350,000 tons rice from Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Thailand," National Food Authority administrator Joemari Gerochi told reporters.
"But we have yet to peg the price for these orders," he said.
Gerochi said the 350,000 tons rice would start arriving in the country in January.
"If there is still a shortfall, we can negotiate for additional importation from Thailand," he said.
The NFA has a standby authority from President Fidel Ramos to import up to 650,000 tons of rice to boost the country's stocks.
Gerochi said the NFA also plans to buy 50,000 tons of white corn within 15 days.
"I have asked authority from President (Fidel) Ramos to import 50,000 tonnes corn for human consumption," he said.
The white corn had to be bought immediately in preparation for the El Nino weather phenomenon. "We are looking at Argentina, China and South Africa as suppliers," he said.
On Sunday, the Department of Agriculture cut the country's unmilled rice output forecast for this year to 11.364 million tonnes compared with the earlier 11.9 million due to the effects of El Nino.
Unmilled rice harvests in 1996 reached 11.284 million tons.
For the third quarter alone, the report said, the country's unmilled rice production dropped by 15.4 percent to 1.79 million tonnes from the year-ago 2.117 million due to a dry spell and pest infestations.
"Lack of water led to delayed plantings," Gerochi said. "However, I expect better harvest in the fourth quarter. The 11.364 million tonnes forecast seems attainable."
The Philippines has an average rice demand of 22,000 tons daily, agriculture officials said.
The Department of Agriculture has been distributing higher yielding rice seeds and fertilisers to farmers in recent months as part of its programme to improve productivity.
"The (programme) is aimed at increasing rice production to 12 to 12.5 million tons in 1998; improve rice productivity from 3.5 to five tons per hectare in irrigated areas and from two to three metric tonnes per hectare in non-irrigated areas," Gerochi said at the opening of the three-day National Food Congress, organised by local food processors.
Manila has been importing an average of 310,000 tons of rice annually in the past 10 years due to a production shortage.
The NFA has so far imported 720,000 tons rice since the start of the year.
In 1996, the NFA imported 893,000 tons of rice, Gerochi said.
The Philippines has also imported so far 940,000 tons of corn, mostly for animal feeds, since the start of the year. In 1996, imports reached 407,000 tons.