What is the reason why Philippines is suffering from rice shortage?

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elbambini

rice shortage? i don't think this is really the country's problem... actually there are lots of rice being sold in the markets... they are just a bit pricey... almost the same as the gasoline...

people line up for the 18 peso NFA rice is because its cheap and you can buy more for less money... even the 25 peso NFA rice from US is being patronized...

Rice shortage...
* in economics: the production does not meet the demand of the population... Philippines as we all know is over populated....
* because we took for granted the production of rice... agricultural sectors seems to have taken advantage and place the budget towards their pockets...
* because rice fields are sold and converted to subdivisions, again because the government cannot uphold the farmers ability to sustain their agricultural and financial problems...

i know people have heard that farmers only get 13-15 pesos per kilo of rice... these people have worked out their blood and sweat to produce this rice and how much do they get... they are being taken advantage... of the farm owners, by the millers, by the buyers, by everyone....

hopefully, the government would take action:
* giving the farmers a land with smaller rent from farm owners
* giving the farmers better irrigation and seedlings
* giving the farmers benefits
* securing the rice fields (should not be sold as subdivisions) crossing north Luzon, in the middle of the vast rice fields stood several housings... an eyesore!
* helping farmers to upgrade (look at other asian farmers, they are provided with machines and other necessities)
* providing farmers seminars to produce better harvests, etc
* giving them recognitions...

papars

The situation is not peculiar to the Philippines only. India has announced a ban on exports on non-Basmati rice, Thailand has stopped exports of certain qualities of rice, except expensive, Fragrant Jasmine Rice, Pakistan has also curbed exports on regular rice, Myanmar has banned ALL exports of rice.

The reasons are many- from poor crop to losses caused by unseasonal rains, droughts and increased demand in local markets.

dusty

The rice shortage is so bad that the Philippines government has threatened to charge rice hoarders with economic sabotage which is a crime punishable by life imprisonment.
The price of rice has risen because there is increasing long-term demand in countries such as China and India where growing wealth means that people are eating more. Also stocks have fallen in Vietnam due to cold weather and pest infestation and America has increased demand because a large chunk of their corn crop has been used for ethanol production and so there is a boosted demand for other staples.
The higher price of rice has hit the Philipines because it is dependent on imported rice (15%)to feed their large population. The government has recently urged the restaurants to halve their portions of rice.
There's a good article in the Time magazine this week about the rice prices and shortages.

Nna g

there are too many mouths to feed and the demand is high that supply cant keep up. some do take advantage of the situation, hoarding rice and doesnt help a lot in meeting the demands of 92 millions filipinos. i think we are having a global food crisis in which prices of food going way up and just as i said not enough supply. I guess the arroyo administration is doing its best in going after those hoarders and stocking up it rice granary and eyeing some unused government lands converting it into rice fields.

*~â˜†â™¥â™« Hazelle â™«â™¥â˜†~*

The news and the government says that the Philippines is not suffering from rice shortage but I feel like there is a rice shortage.

I think there are many reasons...
1)The people just say this because the commercial rice's price is very high and they can't afford it. They go to very few selected stores to buy the chepest kind of rice around (NFA rice). Since there are many people who wants to save money or can't afford commercial rice, NFA rice usually solds out. There is no more rice left for the others. Because of this, the idea of "there is a rice shortage" spawns in the mind of those people who do not get the cheaper rice.

2) According to Former President Estrada, the prices are going up because the government officials wants to earn kickback. The goverment officials will use the money earned for the coming 2010 Presidential Elections.

3) Some people prefer planting corn instead of rice for biofuel.

4) The US economy is down.

5) Rice fields are converted into residential and commercial lots.

6) Philippine farmers doesn't produce enough rice to support all the Filipinos.

Best Alternative: Some farmers are prefering corn now, right? Why don't they make rice out of corn? It is done in Bohol now. That rice from Bohol is I think, cheaper.

Replacing rice in the Philippine diet with bread, potato, or sweet potato is well, impractical. Well, I think, an average Filipino will consume five loaves of bread to replace a cup of rice.

Joe

There is no rice shortage any more than there is a gasoline shortage. Greed prevails. Don't believe everything you hear on the news

Peter L

Too many babies....

The math is very simple. There are limits as to what the land can produce, how many eggs a chicken can lay, etc. This is just the beginning. W/o a solid population control strategy, resources will continue to be scare and thus prices will always go up.

Its too bad, folks Pinoys (from the government down to the local folks) don't usually think long term...

lepactodeloupes

the country is not suffering from rice shortages . poeples who line up in the nfa rice are people who have no money to buy commercial rice , in short people cannot afford to buy commercial rice, it is just another ploy to divert nation attention in rising corruption prevailing in the country, the present govt pgma must do the right thing serve the people , not her cohorts to stay in power till 2010 and her enemy should stop political gimmeckery and just help the people to elevate the living standard. no more news on zte, spartly island, no more exposed corruption just rice shortage kuno,

choir g

i can only blame the land reform act as one of the major culprits for this mess. aside from hoarders and some govt officials

wildyoungnfree

This country has overwhelming growth rate of population for such a small area of land. Rice shortage is definitely an issue. To solve this problem:

Short range solution: importation

Long range solution: irrigation. Lack of irrigation is the only
root cause of not being able to produce rice. Vast Agriculture lands are available waiting for cultivation.

Permanent range solution: exterminate corrupt government officials

lanecx

we have rice. only that some farm lands are converted into subdivisions, etc., farmers dont have enough info on how to have more harvest. blame it to the govt officials.

fritz

my 10cents worth ---

it started as rumors so some people can justify price increase. whatever it is, don't us blame canines. not our fault!

arf arf

Benjamin C

Population Explosion. To solve it you need a lot of explosion. BOOOOOOM!

Mr. Quickie

The Philippines is a third world country. The government cannot take care of its own people in terms of subsidies and welfare. The whole world is experiencing the shortage but the worst is experienced by the poorer ones.

Leander

because of the shortage of the imported rice thus forcing the prices of rice to go up due to more demand.. There's a actually a lot of rice available but the price were raised up by the suppliers. The countries who normally imports rice to the Philippines started limiting the amount of what can be exported out due to the fear of shortage in their own country... The crisis or at least panic have started to hit the world now..
It is also due to the ricing cost of fertilizers, seeds, and fuel for processing harvest.. It forced farmers to either borrow or limit what they can plant due to cost.. The funds from the government that's supposed to help them were already stolen by the politicians...

Ultimately, the main cause is graft and corruption in the Philippines... The "Fertilizer scandal" where loads and loads of money were stolen because of kickbacks.. For those who don't know, kickbacks is term used in any transaction where there was an under the table agreement between the vendor and a person with authority within the buyer's institution where the vendors pay the latter in advance (for him/her to pocket) usually to get the bidding contract and then charge much more for the goods that they sold to cover the advanced money, overhead, and profits...

Anyways, the fertilizer scandal was where the current President was rumored to have gotten her funding for the 2004 Elections... Also, there are fertile lands in the Philippines that the government can use but they actually either already rented it out or in the process of doing it with a Chinese corporation.. This is not to supply the Philippines but rather just to pay a rent to the government by doing this.

tj12735

I don't believe there is a rice shortage in Philippines. There is a plenty of rice fields here.

It is only to bring panick people and for businessmen to earn money.

madc

This is just an opinion ... the rice shortage is artificial ... a scenario created by businessmen to jack up the prices. In the countryside there is no rice shortage ... just high prices of this commodity.

Jian I

as far as im aware we' re not suffering from rice shortage, we just need to minimize rice export

provide farming machines for farmers
minimize convertions of agricultural lands
provide sluts for every farmers

kyt

What shortage? There isn't one. Rice hoarding is the problem. The importers of rice got their merchandise at a high cost (the dollar weakened against the peso, you get the picture?) so they have to sell it at higher prices.

The solution for this crisis is to crack down corruption especially on NFA officials and employees. They are repacking NFA rice and doing all other dirty stuffs.

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