If you have not thought of any gift to give your loved ones this Valentine's Day yet, try giving them rice.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) suggested this, as it assured that there is an ample supply of rice in the country amid the El Niño phenomenon.
"Bukas pa kasi iyong Valentine's di ba... So, in other words we will be more comfortable with the consumptions. So, huwag kayong mag-aalala, kung sino iyong mga mahal ninyo sa buhay, mayroon pa rin siyang bigas (do not worry, whoever are your loved ones, they still have rice)," DA Undersecretary Roger Navarro said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
"Regaluhan ng bigas (give them rice)," he suggested.
Navarro mentioned rice as a gift this Valentine's Day while he was talking about the current buffer stock of rice which he said was still sufficient.
Based on the Rice Supply and Demand Outlook for 2024, rice supply in the country will be stable until the end of the year with an annual average surplus of 3.7 million metric tons or 99 days of buffer or days to last.
According to the price monitoring of the DA from Feb. 5 to 9, local well-milled rice is selling for P52 per kilo while local regular-milled rice is being sold at P50 per kilo.