President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has assured the public that the country has ample supply of rice and that his administration is doing its best to control the price of the staple grain. (https://images.mb.com.ph/production/mb-mkt-neo-prod-1-uploads/Malacanang_photo_dec2a13d41/Malacanang_photo_dec2a13d41.jfif) *President Marcos discusses the country's rice supply with Agriculture and Food officials in Malacañang on April 13, 2023. (Malacañang photo)*

Marcos gave this assurance following his meeting with officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and National Food Authority (NFA) in Malacañang on Thursday, April 13. In a video interview, Marcos assured Filipinos that there would be no shortage in the coming months, saying the rice supply situation in the Philippines looks good. “Mukha namang maganda ang sitwasyon natin. Hindi tayo magkukulang sa bigas (I think we're in a good situation. We're not going to run out of rice)," he said. "Tinitingnan natin lahat ng paraan upang ang presyo ay ma-control natin at hindi naman masyadong tataas (We're looking at different ways to control the price and not let it go too high),” he added.

Bilang kawani ng DA, ibinahagi ni PBBM na pinagpaplanuhan pa ang pag-aangkat ng bigas at sisigurihin ang pagpaparami ng buffer stock ng NFA. pic.twitter.com/NgjgEGxfxK

— Presidential Communications Office (@pcogovph) April 13, 2023

The only problem they see, according to the President, is that the NFA has low buffer stock. “Magpa-plano kami kung kailangan mag-import, kung kailangan magpahaba, magparami ng buffer stock sa NFA dahil masyado ng mababa (We're preparing if there's a need to import or increase the NFA's buffer stock because it's too low)," he said. "Kailangan bumili yung NFA para umabot siya ng at least nine days na buffer stock (The NFA has to buy more to have at least nine days of buffer stock),” he added. Marcos, however, pointed out that the NFA needs to buy its buffer stock from the local producer, which could drive the price of rice up, to ensure a sufficient supply of the grain. “Kaya’t ‘yun ang hinahanapan namin ng paraan para i-adjust. Siguro ang magagawa natin ay ang pagbili ay hindi bigla (We're thinking of not buying all at once),” he said. Meanwhile, President Marcos, who also acts as the DA secretary, said that the country's importations have decreased. "In terms of the general supply for the country, I think we are in good shape. And although we'll still have to import, our importations have come down," he said. "Our agricultural sector is beginning to come back beyond pre-pandemic levels. And so that's progressing nicely," he added. Under the DA 2023 supply outlook, the country's total supply is at 16.98 million metric tons (MMT), sufficient to cover this year's demand estimated at 15.29 MMT. "This would leave the country with an ending balance of 1.69 MMT, which is equivalent to 45 days of buffer stock, instead of the 90-day ideal buffer stock to stabilize the price of rice," a DA briefer said. The NFA is proposing importing 330,000 MT of rice to cover an expected deficit in the country's buffer stock for the relief operations of various agencies in the event of calamities this year. Agriculture officials said the proposed rice buffer stock is equivalent to nine days of national consumption from July 2023 onwards and will ensure sufficient volume for calamity and relief requirements from July to December this year. Given the NFA's budgetary constraints, the agency expects its buffer stocks to decrease to less than 500,000 sacks by July 2023, equivalent to less than a day of public consumption. Under the NFA's proposed rice importation strategy, the agency suggests that the arrangement be undertaken through government-to-government transactions, either through the Office of the President or its designated agency. Republic Act No. 11203 has removed the NFA's regulatory and import licensing issuance functions, reduced its mandate to emergency buffer stocking of rice sourced solely from local farmers, and allowed the private sector to import rice freely subject to a tariff. The NFA may use its credit lines with the Development Bank of the Philippines or the Land Bank to finance the importation and provide logistics and management support. Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) can procure imported stocks from the NFA and exclusively manage the final disposition. As of April 6, the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) has issued 989 Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance (SPSIC) applications for 3.170 MMT volumes of rice applied out of the 3,024 SPSICs. Of this volume, 790,449.12 MT of imported rice has arrived.