PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

THE rice inventory fell 2.9% month on month to 2.24 million metric tons (MMT) as of June 1, according to government data.

Year on year, inventory rose 3.5% from 2.16 MMT previously.

As of June 1, 44.7% of the rice was held by households, 36.4% by commercial entities, and 18.9% by the National Food Authority (NFA).

Month on month, rice held by the NFA and the commercial sector rose 22.3% and 1.4%, respectively. Rice held by households fell by 13.5%.

Stocks held by NFA warehouses and households rose 206.4% and 43.8%, respectively, year on year, it added. Commercial rice holdings grew 38.7%.

The NFA recently said it is considering a limit of 100 bags on the amount of palay (unmilled rice) that it can buy from individual farmers every season to increase farmer access to its higher buying price.

The Department of Agriculture said in a statement that it is still expecting the palay harvest this year to hit a record 20.46 MMT. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza