Rice bumper it isn’t

The huge pile of sacks of rice in the background notwithstanding, the Philippines’ supply of the staple is quite disparaging in the very near future. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for instance, has revised its forecast for Philippine rice imports in 2022 and 2023 upwards of 100,000 metric tons (MTs) from the estimated 3.1 million MTs, citing the continued strong Philippine demand for rice from Vietnam as a reason for the adjustment. The USDA also predicts that Philippine rice production for this year will decrease due to lower consumption of fertilizers whose prices continue to rise in the global market.