00:00 More than 4 million metric tons of rice is expected to be imported to the Philippines this year
00:05 based on the projection of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
00:09 Because of the limited rice,
00:11 more than a hectare of rice is being dried due to the effect of El Niño in the Philippines.
00:16 We have first news, Bernadette Reyes.
00:18 1.31 billion pesos.
00:24 That's how much El Niño's agricultural land has grown, up to 14,000 hectares of rice
00:30 according to the Department of Agriculture.
00:32 The Pangabanan Federation of Free Farmers Cooperative has also increased
00:36 especially the important production areas in the country.
00:40 The areas that have been affected so far,
00:42 Western Visayas, especially Iloilo Province,
00:46 that's the rice granary of Region 6.
00:49 The two Mindoros, Occidental and Oriental,
00:52 are the basket of Mimaropa.
00:56 According to the United States Department of Agriculture,
00:59 the Philippine rice will reach 4.1 million metric tons this year
01:04 because of the limited rice from local farms.
01:07 This is the highest so far in our history.
01:10 It was 3.8 or 3.9 last year, so it's high.
01:14 That means that El Niño has an impact on us.
01:19 But the DA says it's not up to us.
01:21 Even though the USDA has projections,
01:25 that doesn't happen normally.
01:29 Again, coming from last year,
01:31 the rice was planted a bit big, 300,000 metric tons,
01:34 versus their original projection.
01:37 The Department of Agriculture still can't say how much rice is being planted now
01:43 because the harvest season has just started.
01:45 But they expect that the rice will reach 9.6 million metric tons
01:50 this dry season, which is higher than last year.
01:55 This is the first news. Bernadette Reyes for GMA Integrated News.
02:00 news.
02:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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