MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday assured the country that there is enough rice stock to last even after the El Nino phenomenon next year.

The President gave the assurance following a meeting with industry players led by the Private Sector Advisory Council and the Philippine Rice Stakeholders Movement (PRISM) in Malacañang.

“The rice situation is manageable and stable. There is enough rice for the Philippines up to and after the El Niño next year,” the President said.

He made the statement after the Department of Agriculture (DA) and PRISM presented to him the rice supply outlook for the country until the end of 2023.

The meeting was called for by the President to discuss with stakeholders the status of the rice industry and measures to ensure sufficient rice supply in the country.

During the meeting, DA Undersecretary Merceditas Sombillo said even with the low scenario with the assumption of a maintained level of production, the projected ending stock for 2023 is 1.96 million metric tons (MMT), enough to last for 52 days.

Sombillo added that the ending stock projection based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority presents an even better scenario as the ending stock is projected at 2.12 MMT, which would last for 57 days. 

Palay harvest season is set to start September until November.

In an interview after the meeting, Rowena del Rosario-Sadicon, the lead convenor of PRISM, also assured the public that there will be enough rice supply until the end of the year.  

Del Rosario-Sadicon said the outcome of the meeting with President Marcos together with Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) was positive. 

“We don’t need to panic for anything else. Kalma lang po tayo. It’s very important that we are one in our objective to be positive on this. Mayroon po tayong sapat na bigas,” Del Rosario-Sadicon said. (PND)