Rice inventory falls 8.3% in October as corn stocks rise — PSA

The country's rice inventory fell to 2.16 million metric tons (MT) in October, down 8.3% from the 2.35 million MT recorded in the same period last year, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

As of October 1, however, total rice stocks increased by 13.2% from the 1.91 million MT recorded in September.

PSA data showed that rice inventories in National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses and households declined year-on-year, while stocks in the commercial sector increased.

"This month's rice stocks inventories registered annual decreases from the NFA depositories by 38.0 percent and from the households by 15.3 percent. On the other hand, an annual increase was noted from the commercial sector by 12.6 percent," the PSA said.

Of the country's total rice inventory in October, 49.8% came from the commercial sector, 37.3% from households, and 12.9% from NFA warehouses, the PSA added.

Meanwhile, palay production in the third quarter of the year reached 3.08 million MT, down around 18% from the 3.75 million MT recorded in the same quarter in 2025.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the decline in palay production was expected, largely due to a reduction in harvested areas, and stressed that it was not solely attributable to El Niño.

The DA earlier said the country's rice supply would remain sufficient through the end of the year, citing millions of metric tons of rice imports.

Corn

Meanwhile, the country's corn inventory reached 996.81 thousand MT in October, up 17.7% from the 846.81 thousand MT recorded in the same period in 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, corn stocks also increased by 22.1% from the 816.46 thousand MT recorded in September.

However, corn production from July to September reached 2.003 million MT, down from the 2.425 million MT recorded in the same quarter last year.

The DA attributed the decline in corn production to the effects of El Niño.

Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed an executive order increasing the country's corn import quota under the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) scheme to 500,000 MT.

The move aims to help prevent a spike in animal feed prices amid concerns over insufficient domestic supply.

The increase came amid a projected yellow corn deficit of around 1.42 million MT from March to December 2026. —VBL, GMA News