DESPITE a record-high domestic output, the Philippines was only able to produce 81.5 percent of its total rice supply last year, lower than the 85 percent rate recorded in 2020, latest official statistics showed.
In its annual report on food availability, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that the country’s rice self-sufficiency ratio (SSR), which measures the volume of commodity supply that is locally produced, declined last year due to higher import volume.
PSA data showed that milled rice production last year rose by 3.44 percent year-on-year to 13.054 million metric tons (MMT), quite a laggard compared to the 33.71 percent increase in import
volume.
The Philippines posted a record palay output of 19.96 MMT last year, based on PSA data.
Rice imports last year rose to nearly 3 MMT from 2.219 MMT recorded volume in 2020, pushing the country’s import dependency ratio to 18.5 percent from 15 percent, based on PSA data.
“This indicates that 18.5 percent of the available supply of rice came from imports,” the PSA said.
The PSA defines SSR as the “magnitude of production in relation to domestic utilization.” It is the extent to which a country’s supply of commodities is derived from its domestic production or the extent to which a country relies on its own production resources.
“The higher the ratio, the greater the self-sufficiency,” the PSA said.
Last year, the country’s total rice supply stood at 17.946 MMT, of which 14.096 MMT were allotted for local consumption.
The country’s net food disposable (NFD) per capita last year rose to 135.09 kilograms per year from 125.26 kilograms per year in 2020 due to higher gross supply.
“Net Food Disposable [NFD] refers to the volume of commodity available in its original [unprocessed] form for human consumption,” the PSA said.
“The daily net food disposable of a commodity of each member of the population measured through an index indicates the movement of food available for consumption in a specified year relative to a base year,” it added.