(Eagle News) — There is no rice shortage in the country.
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol made the pronouncement on Thursday following reports quoting the National Food Authority as saying it was running low on the staple food.
In a radio interview, Piñol said the country has an “oversupply” of rice, with 3 million metric tons expected after the first quarter.
He said the figure was arrived at by subtracting the 2.8 million metric tons which Filipinos were expected to eat in the first 90 days of the first quarter from the 5.8 million metric tons of rice expected during that period.
“(The 3 million metric tons) is the highest in the country in recent years,” he said.
He said that while reports on the NFA’s pronouncement were not wrong, they were “misinterpreted.”
He said the agency was only referring to its “own buffer stock” when it made the comment.
“Sobra sobra pa ang ating bigas ngayon,” he said.
