THE government is talking with different countries with rice supply to spare to secure possible importation in the future should the need arise in preparation for the adverse impacts of the El Niño weather phenomenon, President Marcos Jr. has said in his video blog over the weekend.
The President, in his 246th vlog that was released on Saturday, however, stressed that the country would not import rice if there will be enough local supply when the full impact of the El Niño happens.
“Naghahanap tayo ng mga kaibigan natin. Mabuti na lang at marami sa kanila ay nakilala ko sa mga byahe-byahe. Kinakausap natin ngayon, e baka mabigyan tayo ng pagkakataon makapag-import galing sa kanila (We are looking at our friends. It was good that I met many of them during my foreign travels. We are now talking with them. They might give us a chance to import from them),” Marcos said.
“Ngunit gagawin lang natin ito kung hindi sapat ang supply. Kaya’t dapat asahan ng ating mga magsasaka na hindi tayo mag-i-import kung sapat ang supply dito sa Pilipinas (We would only do this if the local supply of rice is not enough. The farmers can expect that we will not import rice if the supply in the Philippines is enough),” he added.
The President said the problem is that many Southeast Asian countries are preparing for El Niño, which is making it difficult to find available supply.
Marcos said the demand for rice worldwide is currently high as countries such as India, that has already imposed a ban on their rice exports.
He said Vietnam has limited its supply for exports while Indonesia and Thailand are not exporting but buying rice instead to augment their supply when the full impact of El Niño is felt from the end of 2023 towards the early 2024.
The President reiterated that at present, the supply of rice in the country is still enough despite the devastation in the agriculture sector following the onslaught of super typhoon Egay.
Marcos, who is also the concurrent secretary of the Department of Agriculture, assured the public that there is nothing to worry about the current supply.
He said the DA has prepositioned seedlings nationwide and is prepared to augment the seeds that would be distributed to farmers affected by the typhoons to enable them to plant anew and eventually recover from the loss.
He said the corn industry is among those heavily affected, and while it is already too late to replant corn to make it to the harvest season, they would also provide farmers with high valued seeds.
