The Philippines will import rice as part of its contingency measures in light of developments overseas and the El Niño phenomenon, an official of the Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.

At a Palace press briefing, DA Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla said they would be scheduling the importation because of the threat of El Niño, Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain shipment deal, and India’s ban on exports of non-Basmati white rice.

Sombilla said the country currently has 39 days of buffer stock of rice. 

”As of today, we are looking at, you know, sound pa rin naman iyong supply and demand natin, you know, as of today. But again, as the President is very worried, we really have to discuss ways by which we could really mitigate, you know, the further effects of these events that are now unfolding,” she said.

The DA official said that they have already ”prepositioned ways by which we could really increase production.”

”The biggest rice production will still come sometime, kung hindi end of September, sometime in October so we will be beefing up our supply and, of course, the usual na supplies that we will be also getting from imports,” she said. 

In a video message, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said importation is a necessary measure in times of emergency.

“So, gumawa na kami ng schedule kung saan tayo kukuha ng production, kung saan tayo bibili dito sa local; kung kailangan mag-import, mag-i-import na naman tayo,” he said. 

However, the data indicates that, as a result of a decline in import volume, the country is now less dependent on imports to meet domestic demand, Marcos said.