National Food Authority administrator Angelito T. Banayo assures the country has a stable rice supply as the lean months sets in citing NFA’s intensive palay buying during the summer harvest among the factors that contribute in attaining supply stability.

Traditionally called the lean months, from July to September are the period when farmers grow palay and production are at its lowest.

As of the first week of July, the NFA he said has some 40.7 million bags of rice or 2 million metric tons (MMT) which will be sufficient for the next ten months based on the agency’s average daily rice sales of 110,355 bags.

The agency’s rice inventory is also capable of sustaining the country’s food security rice requirement for 56 days based on the country’s daily requirement of 36,300 metric tons (MT).

“NFA stock inventory at present is almost double the required 30-day food security buffer at the start of lean months,” according to Banayo.

He also noted that the NFA rice inventory accounts for 59 percent of the 3.4 MMT total industry stocks. Household stocks with 972,700 MT accounts for 28 percent and commercial stocks at 460,200 MT representing the 13 percent balance.

The rice supply aberration in 2008 and the threat of El Nino this year has prompted the NFA to implement several strategies to improve its grains inventory that include increasing its domestic palay procurement.

In the last three months when the effect of El Nino was at its worst Banayo noted the NFA was even able to buy palay at a volume that was 253 percent higher than its target.

In April and May, NFA’s actual volume of palay procured were 1.7 and 1.2 million bags as against its target of 696,900 and 504,900 bags respectively.

In June when there was minimal spill over of the summer harvest, NFA maximized its buying operation and bought a total of 387,014 bags of palay as against the 138,500 bags target.

He also noted that in spite of the possible effects of El Nino on the country’s palay production, NFA is targeting to buy 12.25 million bags this year.

The bulk of procurement is expected to peak during the main harvest starting October further ensuring stability in supply while providing marketing assistance to farmers.