MANILA — The country's rice supply is enough despite the recent typhoons and possible restrictions by other rice-producing countries on exports, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and the agriculture department said Tuesday.

In a video statement, Marcos, who also sits as Agriculture Secretary, said the country's rice supply "is okay," but noted the storms' possible impact on inputs.

"Yun lamang, yung mga inputs pa rin — agricultural inputs ay tinitingnan natin nang mabuti para tiyakin na hindi naman masyado tataas ang presyo ng bigas," the President said.

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Citing information from the Department of Agriculture, Marcos said the country has enough supplies of seeds of rice, corn, and other crops for farmers.

"Sapat naman ang mga supply natin sa binhi. Hindi tayo magkukulang. Mabibigyan natin lahat ng mga nangangailangan," he said.

PH RICE SUPPLY 'SOUND'

The rice supply in the Philippines remains “sound," officials from the agriculture department said.

The country has a buffer stock good for 39 days, Agriculture Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla said in a press conference in Malacañang.

“The DA has already prepositioned ways by which we could increase production. The biggest rice production will still come sometime end of September or October,” she said.

“Sound pa rin naman yung supply and demand natin,” she said.

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The DA is monitoring the expected impact of El Niño in the latter part of the year, Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, and India’s export ban on non-basmati rice, she said.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative is a deal where Russia would supposedly allow “the safe export of nearly 33 million tons of grain and foodstuffs to 45 countries by over one thousand vessels” even as the war in Ukraine rages on.

Marcos has started to “discuss ways by which we could mitigate further the effects of these events that are now unfolding,” Sombilla said.

Among these mitigation measures is the scheduled importation of 1.3 metric tons of rice, she said. Applications of these imports are still pending, and the President will need to discuss this with the private sector, she added.

“We really need the help of the private sector in this,” she said.

For his part, Marcos said importation will only happen during emergencies, noting that the country's rice imports have dwindled the past few months.

"Kapag may emergency na ganito, kailangan talaga natin tingnan kung nangangailangan pa ng pag-import kaya yun ang aming pinag-aaralan mabuti," Marcos said in his video statement.

"So gagawa na kami ng schedule kung saan tayo kukuha ng production, saan tayo bibili dito sa local, kung kailangang mag-import, mag-import na naman tayo," he added.

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Video from Presidential Communications Office

When asked about the reported dwindling of buffer stock in the National Food Authority (NFA), Sombilla said that she would “have to check how the calculation was done.”

Several agriculture groups earlier reported that the NFA’s buffer stock was only at 2 days, when the Rice Tariffication Law requires the agency to have at least 9 days worth of buffer stock.

“Hindi ko alam yung 2 days na yan… But their stock really is very low,” she said.

“We really have to beef up their stocks,” she added.

Sombilla also denied reports that rice sold in Kadiwa stores are from the NFA’s stocks.

“Yung binibenta ng Kadiwa is from UniGrow,” she said.

Meantime, the damage to agriculture due to the combined effects of the habagat or the southwest monsoon, and typhoons Egay and Falcon has already reached P1.94 billion, said Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa.

“All the interventions are now in place… especially those affected regions and provinces,” he said.

Among the hardest-hit regions are Ilocos, Cagayan and Cordillera, he added.