Some 396,000 metric tons of rice equivalent to 12 days' supply are on standby at the National Food Authority (NFA) warehouse, and another 495,000 metric tons to last for 15 days are either in transit or waiting to be unloaded at the pier.
The goal of the Department of Agriculture (DA) is to bring the NFA's rice stock up to the equivalent of 45 to 60 days.
NFA administrator Jessup Navarro told The STAR their buffer stock includes 40,000 metric tons of premium grade rice from the United States, part of the community loan for the Philippines under US Public Law 480.
The rice arrived from the US about two months ago, he added.
Navarro said the US premium grade rice is being repacked into packages of one to three kilos to be sold to the public at P25 per kilo.
The public will be allowed to buy only up to three kilos each of NFA rice, he added.
Navarro said the NFA is directly distributing its rice stock to accredited dealers and will sell directly to consumers through its rolling stores.
The NFA has the authority to import up to 2.2 million metric tons of rice this year, he added.
Navarro said the Philippines is hoping to secure additional rice from the US under another program known as the GSM 102.
The US Department of Agriculture had recently agreed to increase the original loan amount from $65 million to $75 million, he added.