Manila, Philippines – Longtime rice industry observer Manuel Q. Bondad believes there is enough rice for the entire country in spite of the damage wrought by typhoon “Pedring” in Luzon farms. Bondad, a retired banker now engaged in farming, said even if the palay losses due to Pedring breach 760,000 metric tons (MT), the total volume would still be low compared to the 1.3 million MT (MMT) lost due to typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” in September-October 2009.
“Should the ultimate loss reach “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” proportions of 1.3 MMT, stocks by year-end of 2.5 MMT are adequate until the end of first quarter of 2012, the start of summer harvest,” Bondad explained.
“Theoretically, even dispensing with the 860,000 MT imports for 2011, stocks of 1.64 MMT remain by yearend due to a million-ton hike in first semester 2011 palay output,” he noted. (Marvyn N. Benaning)