Rice prices in January 2024 surged despite an uptick in inventory, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The PSA revealed that the country’s rice reserves expanded by 6.9% on January 1, 2024, reaching 2.03 million metric tons, This marked a 9.6% increase compared to the same period last year when stocks reached 1.85 million metric tons.

Nearly half of the rice stocks were held at the household level or by farmers, with household stocks totaling 1 million metric tons and commercial stocks, held by traders and importers, at 978,000 metric tons.

Conversely, the National Food Authority’s (NFA) reserves stood at a mere 48,680 metric tons, barely sufficient for the country’s two-day requirement.

NFA rice stocks witnessed a 14.8% month-on-month decrease, and a 57.6% drop compared to the previous year.

PSA data showed a 1.4% month-on-month increase in household stocks, although a 7.7% decline was recorded year-on-year. Meanwhile, commercial rice stocks soared by 50% year-on-year and 14.8% month-on-month.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. had previously exerted pressure on traders and importers to expedite rice imports in December, threatening to revoke import permits within a 30-day period.

Despite the inventory growth, rice prices continued their upward trend. In January 2024, the average wholesale price of regular milled rice stood at P46.60 per kilo, marking a 1.7% increase from December’s P45.83 per kilo.

Year-on-year, this represented a 32.7% increase, with the average price in January 2023 at only P35.11 per kilo.

Similarly, the average wholesale price of well-milled rice went up by 1.5% to P49.96 per kilo, and 28.6% higher than January 2023’s P38.28 per kilo.

Special rice witnessed a similar trend, with an average wholesale price of P55.11 per kilo in January 2024, marking a 1.8% increase month-on-month and a 19.1% jump.

Published Date: February 13, 2024