Rice stocks fall by 40.3% in September

The country's rice stocks as of September 1 declined to 1.44 million metric tons (MT), down by 40.3 percent from 2.41 million MT the same month last year, reported the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics on Tuesday. Volume was also down month-on-month by 7.4 percent from 1.56 million MT. Data from the bureau shows that from the previous month, stocks in households fell 11.6 percent, while those in commercial warehouses declined by 8.4 percent. Stocks in government warehouses, 43 percent of which were imported, fell by 1.9 percent. Year-on-year, stocks in the households went down by 2.7 percent, in commercial warehouses by 19.0 percent, and in government depositories by 62.4 percent. The total rice stocks as of September 1 would be enough for 43 days: those in the National Food Authority depositories good for 15 days; those in commercial warehouses good for 12 days; and those in households good for 16 days. The BAS reported a different outlook for the total corn stock inventory, estimated at 2 million MT as of September 1. The amount is 54.8 percent higher than the previous month’s level of 1.32 million MT but 26.5 percent lower than 2.79 million MT the year before. Compared to the previous month’s records, household stocks grew 134.2 percent. Stocks in NFA depositories reached 289 MT from 236 MT. However, stocks in commercial warehouses decreased by 5.7 percent. Year-on-year, the inventory dropped 24 percent in the households and 31.1 percent in commercial warehouses, although those in NFA depositories went up tenfold to 289 MT from 29 MT. Of the current stock level, 65.4 percent were with the households and 34.5 percent were with the commercial warehouses. Around 0.1 percent was held in NFA depositories. —BM, GMA News