Philippines may buy more rice

The additional imports from Manila would bring its total purchases to just over a record 3.2 million tonnes for the year. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

MANILA - THE Philippines, the world's biggest rice buyer, may import around 800,000 tonnes more this year amid a prolonged dry spell, an official with the state grain agency said on Sunday.
The additional imports from Manila would bring its total purchases to just over a record 3.2 million tonnes for the year.
But bulging stocks from Thailand and Vietnam, the top two rice exporters, may cushion any impact on Asian rice prices which have eased considerably since Manila's last rice tender in December.
'What is being harvested now by farmers is what was planted from around September last year when the ricefields were hit by typhoons,' Rex Estoperez, spokesman for the National Food Authority (NFA), told Reuters.
'With the dry spell expected to last until July, there might not be enough water available for the planting season in May and June which will be harvested starting around September.' 'This means we may need to buy about 800,000 tonnes more to offset any production shortfall.'
Water levels at dams across the country have been dropping to near record lows due to the dry spell, caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon, putting at risk irrigation for farms as well as hydropower plants. Wide swathes of farmlands in northern Philippines, including rice-growing areas, have dried up completely