THE Philippines is expected to be the world’s biggest rice importer in 2020 and 2021 due to lower domestic production, according to a report released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The agency said from this year’s 2.5 million metric tons (MT), the country’s rice imports next year are expected to hit 3.3 million MT, driven by lower production and tighter stocks paired with higher consumption.
The report forecasts an increase in global rice production with larger crops in China, Southeast Asia and the United States but global consumption is also expected to rise, particularly in China, India and Sub-Saharan Africa.
However, the USDA said the largest production declines for 2020 and 2021 will be experienced in Brazil and the Philippines, although these are considered to be modest.
Earlier this week, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the country’s rice supply is adequate for the entire year, with a total projected supply of 17.994 million MT by end-December 2020 against a projected demand of 14.668 million MT.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the difference of 3.326 million MT will then become the country’s beginning inventory in January 2021 which is good for 94 days of supply.
Dar said the DA’s 2020 estimates are computed using the December 2019 surplus or the beginning stock in January 2020; total domestic palay production from January to December 2020; and the total rice imports for the entire year including the 300,000 MT to be imported by the Philippine International Trading Corp. under a government-to-government arrangement.
