NAKAIMBAK NA BIGAS DUMAMI

TUMAAS ang rice inventory ng bansa hanggang noong Mayo 1 sa 2.909 million metric tons (MMT) sa likod ng pagdami ng stocks ng commercial traders, ayon sa Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Gayunman, sinabi ng PSA, sa monthly rice at corn inventory report nito, na ang pinakabagong stockpile ay mas mababa ng 9.48 percent sa 3.214 MMT na naitala noong Mayo 2017.

Ang total rice stockpile ng bansa hanggang noong Mayo 1 ay sapat sa 90 araw, base sa computation ng BusinessMirror gamit ang average total daily consumption ng bansa.

Ito ang ikalawang sunod na buwan na nadagdagan ang rice inventory kasunod ng six-month skid noong Marso sa gitna ng paubos na stockpile ng National Food Authority (NFA).

Ayon sa PSA, sa total rice stocks inventory ng buwan, may 52.11 percent ang nasa  commercial warehouses, 47.77 percent sa households at 0.12 percent ang nasa NFA depositories.

Ang total volume ng bigas na nakaimbak sa commercial warehouses sa naturang reference  period ay umabot sa 1.516 MMT, habang ang nasa  households ay nasa 1.389 MMT.

“The NFA’s rice stockpile as of May 1  plunged to its lowest level in 38 years at a mere 3,480 MT.  This is the first time that the grains agency’s bufferstock level sank below the 10,000 MT-level,” nakasaad pa sa report ng PSA.

Karamihan sa bufferstock ng state-run grain agency o nasa  62.67 percent ay imported rice.

“Rice stocks in commercial warehouses increased by 4.33 percent with reference to last year’s inventory level. However, both stocks held in the households and NFA depositories decreased by 6.77 percent and 98.71 percent, respectively,”  ayon pa sa PSA sa monthly report nito na may titulong  Rice and Corn Stocks Inventory, na nalathala kamakailan.

“This month’s stocks level for both households and commercial warehouses went up by 1.01 percent and 90.84 percent, respectively, compared to the previous month’s record. On the contrary, rice stocks inventory level in NFA depositories dropped by 71.58 percent,” dagdag ng PSA. JASPER ARCALAS