THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Monday that it estimates rice demand for 2025 at over 15 million metric tons (MMT).

The rice harvest is expected to improve this year due to favorable growing conditions, Assistant Secretary Arnel V. de Mesa said on the sidelines of a briefing.

He said the El Niño and La Niña weather patterns significantly affected domestic rice output last year.

The DA said in November that the palay (unmilled rice) harvest for 2024 is estimated to come in at a four-year low of 19.41 MMT. The record was 20.06 MMT in 2023.

The positive outlook for rice in 2025 was also due to increased government intervention in irrigation and seed supply, Mr. De Mesa said.

The food industry is expected to account for 13.4 MMT of rice demand, Mr. De Mesa said.

At the briefing, Mr. De Mesa said 101,115.90 MT of imported rice arrived in February, with 61.54% released to the market. The total volume of rice to be landed this month is estimated at 154,692.04 MT.

In January, the Philippines imported 273,317.69 MT of rice.

Rice imports hit a record 4.68 MMT in 2024, against 3.6 MMT a year earlier.

Citing high rice costs, the DA has imposed a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) scheme for the grain and declared a food security emergency, which allows the government to release reserve stock to local government units (LGUs).

The DA, in an order dated Feb. 14, lowered the MSRP for imported rice with 5% broken-grain content to P52 per kilo.

Mr. De Mesa said the DA hopes to further bring down the MSRP to P49 per kilo in March.

He said the decline in rice prices is purely attributable to the MSRP since the NFA has yet to dispose of its stock.

The food security emergency authorizes the NFA to release 150,000 MT of its rice buffer stock to government agencies, LGUs, and government-subsidized Kadiwa outlets.

Mr. De Mesa said LGUs that have committed to buying NFA stock are mostly from Metro Manila.

The DA also reported that the price of well-milled rice fell to P35 per kilo on Monday from the prevailing price of P38 last week.

Of the imported varieties, the price of special white rice decreased to P55 per kilo from P58 last week.

The price of domestically grown premium (5% broken) rice declined to P50 per kilo from P55 per kilo last week. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Published Date: February 17, 2025