The Department of Agriculture (DA) says the country still has enough rice despite some regions being affected by El Nino.

In an interview with dzBB Sunday, Agriculture department pokesperson Arnel de Mesa said only less than one percent of rice harvest were affected by El Nino in the first quarter.

“Our rice supply is still sufficient as of now, although there are indeed areas affected by El Nino. These are the western parts of our country. From Ilocos to the western side of Region III (Central Luzon). Calabarzon, Mimaropa, up to Zamboanga,” De Mesa said.

“A significant portion of our country, especially the rice granaries, has not been affected. Our irrigation is still in good condition, especially those covered by the National Irrigation Administration and small-scale irrigation projects,” he said.

“Our harvest slightly decreased in the first quarter by 100,000 metric tons. But that's very small. Less than one percent. Because our harvest was 20.06 million metric tons last year, and we expect it to be 20.4 million metric tons this year,” he added.

De Mesa said more crops are damaged during natural disasters like typhoons than during the El Nino, which could reach up to 600,000 hectares.

“During this El Nino, our projected losses are up to 120,000 hectares. But our recorded damage now is around 58,000 hectares, so it’s not that big. It’s because we have prepared for this since we have been advised by Pagasa (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) and we have also been assisted by NIA…This can easily be augmented by importation,” De Mesa said.

According to De Mesa, rice importation is “on target”.

“The normal amount of importation is around 300,00 to 350,000 metric tons of rice per month. So we have received 1.6 million metric tons of rice which is with our average target every month,” he said.

De Mesa said the movement of the rice prices would depend on how high or how low they are sold on the international market.

The DA expects that when the imported rice enters the country, prices will range from P48 to P55 per kilogram and P60 per kilogram for specialty rice.

De Mesa said the current prices are stable, with the regular and well-milled rice being sold from P48 to P53 per kilogram. Jaspearl Tan/DMS