THE Philippines’ rice imports reached 4.07 million metric tons (MT) ahead of El Niño, data from the Bureau of Plant Industry showed on Friday.
As of Oct. 1, rice imports totaled 4.07 million MT, a 20.06-percent jump from 3.39 million MT recorded last year.
Vietnam remains as the country’s top rice supplier with imports reaching 2.73 million, followed by Thailand (552,667 MT) and Myanmar (418,854 MT).
The remaining volume, meanwhile, came from Cambodia, Pakistan, India, South Korea, Japan and Italy.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) warned that El Niño may intensify into a very strong one by end-2026 and persist until the first half of 2027.
This is expected to bring below-normal rainfall, prolonged dry spells, reduced water supply and extreme heat in parts of the country.
To protect local buffer stocks from El Niño, the Department of Agriculture last month said that rice imports are not barred from entering the country.
Also, in early September, the agency stated the Philippines may need to import as much as 5 million MT of rice.
Raul Montemayor, national manager of the Federation of Free Farmers, told The Manila Times on Friday that rice imports may exceed 5 million MT this year.
“5 million metric tons for 2026 is very possible. With El Niño and reduced local production, peso depreciation and increasing international prices, importers and traders will probably stock up in advance on the expectation that supplies will start tightening in early 2027 before the dry season harvest in March-May,” he said.
Montemayor added that rice imports have reached 4.2 million MT as of end-September based on data from the Bureau of Customs.
Based on DA’s Daily Price Index on its website as of Oct. 15, imported rice (special) costs P60.74 per kilogram (kg), premium imported rice at P55.85 per kg, well-milled imported rice at P48.55 per kg and regular milled (imported) at P45.33 per kg.
