The Philippine government on Monday said it plans to import only 500,000 metric tons (MT) of rice as buffer stock for 2012, half that of the volume for importation this year and less than a fifth of what was imported in 2010.
“That is what we projected in the revised rice road map but we assure you that we will do our best to bring down the volume to less than 500,000 metric tons," Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said in a text message to reporters.
Total rice importation for 2011 is projected at 860,000 MT or one-third of the imported volume last year.
The rice harvest for the dry season cropping of 2011 already hit record levels, according to the Agriculture chief. He declined to cite details until after the numbers are final.
“Figures show that our dry season harvest this year is the highest so far from previous dry season harvests. We did this by implementing all the necessary measures needed to increase production," he said.
By 2013, “we will be self-sufficient," he added.
In January, the International Rice Research Institute labeled government's plans for the country to become rice self-sufficient by 2013 "ambitious," saying it should consider factors like climactic extremes and an increase in rice consumption.
Once the country hits its target sufficiency volume of 21.12 million MT by 2013, the country might start exporting organic, fancy rice varieties.
Earlier this year, the Department of Agriculture said it plans to reduce the volume of rice imports to 1 million MT for 2011 from nearly twice that amount in 2010. — BC/VS
