Private rice importers awaiting arrival of 1.3M metric tons of rice - DA

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday assured the public of the sufficient supply of rice in the country, as private importers are now awaiting the arrival of 1.3 million metric tons (MT) of the grain.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the incoming shipment will be on top of the 500,000 MT of rice that have already arrived, bringing the total imports to 1.8 million MT.

"Meron tayong expected arrival na 'yung sinasabi ko kanina, 'yung 1.3 million MT at ito 'yung binabantayan natin with Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar, i-respeto nila 'yung kontrata, 'yung na-issue na import clearance," he said during the ‘Laging Handa’ press briefing on Wednesday.

"'Pag dumating itong 1.3 million MT dito sa Pilipinas ay, more or less, meron tayong pangpuno during the lean months," he elaborated.

On top of this, Dar noted that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has already recommended the importation of an additional 300,000 MT through a government-to-government scheme.

"Hindi po tayo kukulangin, hindi tayo kakapusin. Ang national rice inventory, as of March 2020, ay nasa good for 74 days, at itong next three months, by the end of June 2020, meron tayong national rice inventory na 67 days, so dapat na sapat po," he said.—AOL, GMA News