THE national rice inventory rose 24.7% year on year at the start of the 60-day rice import freeze, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
Rice stocks as of Sept. 1, the first day of the import ban, amounted to 2.07 million metric tons, the PSA said.
Month on month, the national inventory was down 10.7%.
Some 39.3% of the rice was held by commercial entities, while households held 39% and the National Food Authority (NFA) 21.6%.
In August, the Department of Agriculture (DA) continued to roll out its P20 per kilo subsidized rice program targeted at vulnerable segments of society and minimum wage earners.
The rice was taken from NFA stock, causing commercial traders to trim their inventories by 21.6%, the PSA said.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. ordered a 60-day freeze on rice imports to provide price relief to farmers, who had been receiving reduced offers for their grain from traders. The DA has said it is considering extending the freeze until the end of the year. — Andre Christopher H. Alampay