The added importation for the last quarter of the year will bring total imports to 1.25 million MT for the whole 2018. The government now plans to flood the market with the 750,000 MT of rice in hopes to finally bring down the price of the commodity. Meanwhile, the government’s plan to import another one million MT next year is still quite conservative, considering the latest projection of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) of 1.5 million MT. This is amid high rice prices due to tight supply, rising fuel prices, market distribution inefficiencies and preparation for the midterm elections set in May 2019. Production of milled-rice next year is only seen increasing by one percent to 12.35 million MT from the expected 12.23 million MT this year.

Source: Philippine Star September 24, 2018 15:56 UTC