Alcala: Philippines to export rice in four years

The Philippines, the world’s top rice importer in 2010, will become a rice exporter in a span of four years.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala declared this ambitious goal, saying the Philippines was on its way of becoming a rice exporter by 2014.

Alcala said that transforming the Philippines into a rice seller in the world market was the second part of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) goal under the Aquino administration once the country becomes self-sufficient in rice.

He said the country was on track to meet this goal. After this has been achieved, the Philippines would then sell rice to other countries in the region, he added.

“After 2013, we will be self-sufficient. By 2014, we should not import anymore. We should start exporting. That’s another reason why we are working hard now,” Alcala said in an interview.

When he assumed office in 2010, President Aquino declared that ensuring enough supply of rice, the Philippines’ number one staple, and stopping the corruption-laden and expensive rice importation program were his major mid-term targets.

Last month, Aquino said he was confident the Philippines would become a rice exporter during his term.

The DA’s goal to transform the Philippines into a rice exporter is an ambitious plan considering that the country has been the world’s top rice importer.

In 2010, the Philippines bought 2.4 million metric tons of rice from various Asian countries, pushing up the price of the staple in the world market.

The DA has drastically cut the country’s importation volume while working to boost rice production. For this year, the National Food Authority’s importation requirement was only at 860,000 MT. This was further lowered to 500,000 MT for 2012.

Meanwhile, the DA expects the national paddy yield to reach P16.68 million MT in 2011, 5.7 percent higher than the 2010 output of 15.77 million MT.

For next year, the DA is targeting to increase the harvest to 18.7 million MT.

Alcala said the Philippines plans to plant and sell the sticky, short-grain rice varieties that are commonly eaten in South Korea and Japan.

As part of that goal, Alcala said the DA was studying various rice seeds that Filipino farmers could plant for export.

He also noted that South Korea was coordinating with the DA on the production of short-grain rice. Although South Korea has enough rice to feed its population, Alcala said its government expects demand to boom in a few years.

“I think even Korea realizes that we will meet our sufficiency goals,” Alcala said.

Alcala also noted that the DA would expand and open new rice areas. About half of the DA’s budget in 2012 was allotted for irrigation to enable farmers to use more hectarage and increase their croppings.

The DA chief said the Philippines was expected to harvest 18.7 million MT of rice in 2012, slightly lower than the original projection of 19.2 million MT.

Despite the adjustment, Alcala said the figure was within the demand range.

“In our final evaluation of our food staples sufficiency program, it appeared that this is the right consumption target,” he explained.