Feeling a bit more hawkish than before, the Monetary Board yesterday decided to retain the central bank’s key rates for the fourth consecutive time as the country’s inflation path, while it may have shifted slightly higher, remains within the government’s target range of between 2 and 4 percent.

Eli Remolona, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor and Monetary Board chief, said the Target Reverse Repurchase (RRP) Rate remains at 6.5 percent.

The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities also remain at 6 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

Remolona said the risk-adjusted inflation forecast for 2024 has risen to 4 percent from 3.9 percent in the previous meeting. For 2025, the risk-adjusted inflation forecast is unchanged at 3.5 percent.

“The risks to the inflation outlook continue to lean toward the upside. Possible further price pressures are linked mainly to higher transport charges, elevated food prices, higher electricity rates, and global oil prices. Potential minimum wage adjustments could also give rise to second-round effects,” Remolona said.

“My sense is that the upside risks may have become worse so that would make us somewhat more hawkish than before. So if I would say if we were relatively dovish, we might reduce rates in the third quarter and that would be no more than 25 basis points but now we’re feeling a bit more hawkish than before, so I would say we’re not gonna by the third quarter. We may do it down the road. We’re contemplating easing, we’re not contemplating any further tightening,” Remolona added.

“I think the data will have to be really bad for us to consider a further rate hike because we’re already tight at the moment, this tightness, we think, is sufficient to bring inflation rates down,” Remolona stressed.

Remolona said the Monetary Board noted that while upside risks to inflation have raised inflation expectations, these expectations have remained broadly anchored.

Francisco Dakila, BSP deputy governor, said factors that led to the revision in the forecast numbers include “the uptick in global crude oil prices, the higher than expected inflation outturns in February and March relative to what was forecasted during the previous meeting on the monetary policy stance last February.”

Among the risk factors are the possibility of higher transport charges and domestic food prices emanating from pressures that are still unfolding, adjustments in electricity rates and even further increase in global oil prices should there be an escalation in the conflict in the Middle East, as well as higher minimum wage coming from the recent Senate passage of the bill increasing the minimum wage by P100.

Remolona said the latest demand indicators suggest that domestic growth prospects remain largely intact over the medium term, even as overall activity continues to gradually respond to tighter financial conditions.

“Given these considerations, the Monetary Board deems it appropriate to maintain the BSP’s tight monetary policy settings. The BSP also continues to support the National Government’s policies and programs to address supply-side pressures on the prices of key food commodities. The BSP remains ready to adjust its monetary policy settings as necessary, in keeping with its primary mandate to safeguard price stability,” Remolona said.

Yesterday’s meeting was originally scheduled on April 4 but the Monetary Board wanted to wait for the release of the March consumer price index data which came out on April 5, together with other data.

The Philippines’ headline inflation or overall inflation increased to 3.7 percent in March from 3.4 percent in February 2024. This brings the national average inflation from January to March 2024 to 3.3 percent.

The uptrend in the overall inflation in March was primarily influenced by the higher year-on-year increase in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages.

The faster annual increases in the indices of transport and restaurants and accommodation services also contributed to the uptrend.

Remolona said the March 2024 inflation of 3.7 percent is within the BSP’s forecast range of 3.4 to 4.2 percent.

“The inflation outturn is consistent with the BSP expectations that inflation will likely remain within the target range in Q1 2024 due largely to negative base effects. However, inflation could temporarily accelerate above the target range in the next two quarters of the year due to the possible adverse impact of adverse weather conditions to domestic agricultural output and positive base effects,” Remolona said.

Michael Ricafort, RCBC chief economist, said “provided no escalation of geopolitical risks particularly on the Israel-Hamas war and the potential effects on world oil prices, also provided no large storm/El Nino drought damage that tends to increase food prices, headline inflation could still be well within the BSP inflation target in 2024.

“Thus, further local policy rate pause or cut especially in 2024 could already be possible for the coming months, as fundamentally supported by the easing inflation trend as seen recently,” Ricafort said.

Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased at a faster pace in February, bringing inflation to 3.4 percent, higher than the previous month’s 2.8 percent.

The Philippine Statistics Authority said the uptrend in the overall inflation was primarily influenced by the higher year-on-year increase in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index.

Claire Dennis Mapa, national statistician and civil registrar general, said the index jumped to 4.6 percent last month from 3.5 percent in the previous month.

He added that annual increase of transport and utilities also contributed to the uptrend.

“The top three commodity groups contributing to the February 2024 overall inflation were food and non-alcoholic beverages with 52.1 percent share, restaurants and accommodation services with 15.3 percent share and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with 5.8 percent share,” Mapa said.

In contrast, seven commodity groups registered lower inflation rates during the month – clothing and footwear; furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance; health; information and communication; recreation, sport and culture; restaurants and accommodation services; and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services.

“The indices of education services and financial services retained their previous month’s annual increment of 3.8 percent and annual decrease of 0.6 percent, respectively,” Mapa said.

Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, slowed down to 3.6 percent in February 2024 from 3.8 percent in the previous month.

Possible acceleration

Eli Remolona, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor, said the inflation outturn is consistent with the central bank’s expectations  inflation will likely remain within the target range of between 2 and 4 percent due largely to negative base effects, but could temporarily accelerate from the second quarter due to the adverse impact of El Niño weather conditions on agricultural production.

“The risks to the inflation outlook have receded but remain tilted toward the upside. The upside risks to the inflation forecasts are linked mainly to higher transport charges, increased electricity rates, higher oil and domestic food prices, and the additional impact on food prices of a strong El Niño episode. Meanwhile, the implementation of government measures to mitigate the impact of El Niño weather conditions is the primary downside risk to the outlook,” Remolona said.

National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, however, said the government is intensifying its efforts to mitigate the effects of the El Niño phenomenon and help keep the inflation rate within target.

“As we navigate the economic landscape, it is imperative that we remain vigilant and proactive in our approach to managing inflationary pressures. While we have seen some relief from certain inflation risks, we must not become complacent. The potential impact of a strong El Niño weather pattern on food prices is a significant concern for our community. Rising transportation costs, electricity rates, and volatile oil markets are putting pressure on household finances. Our team is actively formulating robust strategies with the concerned agencies in response to these challenges. We must be agile, adaptive, and forward-thinking,” the government’s chief economic planner stated.

He added international rice prices have started to ease, and local supply is expected to increase with the dry season harvest beginning this month through April.

Balisacan also said the Department of Agriculture is collaborating closely with the International Rice Research Institute to increase the country’s rice production.

El Niño ‘til May

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said the government is proactively preparing to mitigate the effects of El Niño on inflation, which is forecasted to peak this month and persist until May.

“The government has a comprehensive plan in place — the Reduce Emerging Inflation Now or REIN — to keep the prices of goods and services stable and affordable. The deliberate implementation of REIN will help us keep the inflation rate within manageable levels, especially with the looming threat of El Niño,” Recto said.

“…reducing inflation and protecting the purchasing power of Filipinos is a top priority of this administration. The government and the BSP are working in sync to ensure that both non-monetary and monetary measures prioritize growth and price stability,” he added.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual also stressed  government is well-prepared to weather the inflationary pressures.

“While the uptick in inflation rate requires our attention, it is crucial to understand it within the broader context of our dynamic global and domestic economic environments. Underpinned by robust fiscal and monetary policies, we are well-prepared to navigate through these inflationary pressures. We remain steadfast in our balanced approach to economic management – sustaining economic growth while ensuring price stability,” Pascual said.

To keep or to cut

Remolona said the policymaking Monetary Board deems it appropriate “to keep the BSP’s monetary policy settings unchanged in the near term” amid the improvement in inflation conditions.

“The BSP also continues to support the National Government’s non-monetary measures to address supply-side pressures on prices and sustain the disinflation process,” Remolona said.

At its meeting last month, the Monetary Board decided to keep the BSP’s Target Reverse Repurchase (RRP) Rate unchanged at 6.50 percent. The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were also kept at 6.0 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively.

The latest risk-adjusted inflation forecast for 2024 was eased to 3.9 percent from 4.2 percent in the previous meeting in December. For 2025, the risk-adjusted inflation forecast is relatively steady at 3.5 percent from 3.4 percent.

Michael Ricafort, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist, said further local policy rate pause or even rate cut could already be possible for the coming months.

“Supply-side inflation factors would be better addressed by non-monetary measures to increase the supply and to lower tariffs and prices of local food and other agricultural products,” Ricafort said.

“Inflation already back to within the central bank’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent would further support the economic recovery narrative, amid the faster growth in purchasing power compared to slower net increase in the prices especially into 2024,” he added.

Aris Dacanay, HSBC economist for Asean, noted the second quarter as a critical period in assessing the policy rate outlook, as the consumer price index (CPI) will continue to accelerate due to base effects and “may potentially breach target.”

“Whether this uptick will be sustained will need to be monitored with retail rice prices very recently easing from its peak but still elevated overall. The good news is that the acceleration wasn’t broad based. Most of the other components of the CPI basket decelerated except for transport, which was widely expected to accelerate due to unfavorable base effects,” Dacanay said.

“We do expect headline CPI to climb even further and potentially breach the BSP’s 2-4 percent target band sometime in the second quarter. Market jitters may add up as inflation nears the upper-bound target of 4.0 percent, more so with risks tilted to the upside as authorities mull a potential P100 across-the-board wage hike. That said, the February CPI figure poses an upside risk to our baseline forecast of the BSP beginning its easing cycle at the same time as the Fed in June,” added Dacanay.

However, Dacanay said if inflation tilts to the upside again or risks to inflation materialize during that period, the central bank may instead cut after the Fed, keeping the BSP rate at 6.50 percent for a longer period than expected.

“Supporting this view is the fact that growth isn’t providing any pressure on the BSP to rush its easing cycle with the Philippines being the fastest growing economy in Asean for 2023,” Dacanay said.

The Monetary Board decided to keep the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Target Reverse Repurchase (RRP) Rate steady as the outlook for inflation for this year slightly eased from the previous meeting.

The key rate remains at 6.50 percent. The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were kept at 6 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

Iluminada Sicat, BSP senior assistant governor, said the latest risk-adjusted inflation forecast for 2024 eased to 3.9 percent from 4.2 percent in the previous meeting in December.

For 2025, the risk-adjusted inflation forecast is relatively steady at 3.5 percent from 3.4 percent.

“Equally important, the BSP’s latest survey of external forecasters shows inflation expectations to be more firmly anchored, with mean forecasts remaining within the target range for both 2024 and 2025,” said Sicat in reading the statement of the Monetary Board.

The Board noted  the risks to the inflation outlook have receded but remain tilted toward the upside.

“The upside risks to the inflation forecasts are linked mainly to higher transport charges, increased electricity rates, higher oil and domestic food prices, and the additional impact on food prices of a strong El Niño episode. On the other hand, the implementation of government measures to mitigate the impact of El Niño weather conditions is the primary downside risk to the outlook,” Sicat added.

The country’s overall inflation slowed down further to 2.8 percent in January mainly due to slower price increases of food and non-alcoholic beverages and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.

January’s rate is the slowest in three years–since the 2.3 percent inflation rate recorded in October 2020. It was also slower than the previous month’s 3.9 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, decelerated to 3.8 percent in January 2024 from 4.4 percent in the previous month. In January 2023, core inflation was higher at 7.4 percent.

The Board also noted  the sustained expansion in output in the fourth quarter of last year “reaffirms the BSP’s view that the country’s growth momentum remains intact over the medium term.”

“However, recent indicators also suggest that economic activity could moderate in the near term as the full impact of the BSP’s prior monetary policy tightening continues to manifest,” Sicat added.

Michael Ricafort, RCBC chief economist, said the move was “widely expected,” adding that with inflation already back to within the central bank’s target range of between 2 and 4 percent “would further support the economic recovery narrative.”

“Provided no escalation of geopolitical risks particularly on the Israel-Hamas war and the potential effects on world oil prices, also provided no El Nino drought damage that tends to increase food prices, headline inflation could still well within the BSP inflation target to 3 percent by February-April 2024,” Ricafort said.

“The BSP recently continued to signal the need to keep monetary policy tight if necessary to help anchor both inflation and inflection expectations, especially in ensuring the continued achievement of the BSP’s inflation target and fulfill the price stability mandate, amid geopolitical risks,” Ricafort added.

“Further local policy rate pause or even rate cut/s could already be possible for the coming months, as fundamentally supported by the easing inflation trend,” he added.

The Monetary Board said it “remains ready to adjust its monetary policy settings as necessary in keeping with its primary mandate to safeguard price stability.”

The country’s overall inflation slowed down further to 2.8 percent in January mainly due to slower price increases of food and non-alcoholic beverages and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.

January’s rate is the slowest in three years — since the 2.3 percent inflation rate recorded in October 2020. It was also slower than the previous month’s 3.9 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, decelerated to 3.8 percent in January 2024 from 4.4 percent in the previous month. In January 2023, core inflation was higher at 7.4 percent.

Claire Dennis  Mapa, national statistician and civil registrar general, said the downtrend was primarily brought about by the slower annual increment of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 3.5 percent in January 2024 from 5.4 percent in the previous month.

“Also contributing to the downtrend was housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with slower annual increase of 0.7 percent during the month from 1.5 percent in December 2023,” Mapa said.

He said lower annual increments were also noted in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance; health; recreation, sport and culture; restaurants and accommodation services; and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services.

Annual decreases were also noted in the indices of transport and financial services.

“On the contrary, the index of education services exhibited a higher annual increase of 3.8 percent during the month from an annual increment of 3.5 percent in December 2023,” Mapa said.

The index of information and communication remained at its previous month’s annual rate of 0.5 percent.

Consistent with BSP

Eli  Remolona Jr., Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor, said the outturn is “consistent with the BSP expectations that inflation will likely moderate in the first quarter of the year due largely to negative base effects and some easing of supply constraints affecting key commodities.”

Semolina, however, said inflation could temporarily accelerate above the target range from the second quarter “due to the impacts of El Niño weather conditions and positive base effects.”

“The balance of risks to the inflation outlook still leans significantly towards the upside. Key upside risks are associated with potential pressures emanating from higher transport charges, increased electricity rates, higher oil prices, and higher food prices due to strong El Niño conditions. Meanwhile, the impact of a relatively weak global recovery and the government measures to mitigate the effects of El Niño could ease some price pressures,” Remolona said in a statement.

Continuous monitoring

NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, meanwhile, assured the public “that the government would continue monitoring food supply and prices in the country in anticipation of the El Niño phenomenon spreading across more areas, as inflation in January further eased.”

“The Inter-Agency Committee on Inflation and Market Outlook (IAC-IMO) will continue to closely monitor the prices of rice and other goods to provide the President and the Cabinet with timely and appropriate policy recommendations and ensure stable and affordable prices of commodities,” Balisacan said.

“We introduced stop-gap measures, as necessary, such as allowing further imports on key commodities until our supply stabilizes at prices affordable to consumers while ensuring remunerative prices for local producers,” he added.

Balisacan said the Department of Agriculture would continuously monitor on-the-ground situations and adequately guide the government in addressing food production concerns.

Support to economic recovery

Michael Ricafort, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist, said  inflation already back to within the central bank’s target range of between 2 and 4 percent “would further support the economic recovery narrative, amid the faster growth in purchasing power compared to slower net increase in the prices especially into 2024.”

“Provided no escalation of geopolitical risks particularly on the Israel-Hamas war and the potential effects on world oil prices, also provided no El Nino drought damage that tends to increase food prices, headline inflation could still be well within the BSP inflation target to 3 percent by February-April 2024,” Ricafort said.

Following the trend at the national level, the Philippine Statistics Authority said inflation rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) also decelerated to 2.8 percent in January 2024 from 3.5 percent in December 2023, mainly influenced by the slower annual increase in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index.

The policymaking Monetary Board yesterday decided to keep the key rate of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) steady as it points out that the “previous adjustments have continued to work their way through the economy.”

BSP’s Target Reverse Repurchase (RRP) Rate is still at 6.5 percent. The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities will remain at 6percent and 7 percent, respectively.

Eli Remolona, BSP governor and Monetary Board chief, said they continue to see the need “to keep monetary policy settings sufficiently tight to allow inflation expectations to settle more firmly within the target range.”

The Board stressed the balance of risks to the inflation outlook “still leans significantly toward the upside.”

“The overall outlook for inflation remains largely unchanged. The latest risk-adjusted inflation forecast for 2024 has declined to 4.2 percent from 4.4 percent in the previous meeting in November. For 2025, the risk-adjusted inflation forecast is unchanged at 3.4 percent. Equally important, the BSP’s latest survey of external forecasters shows that inflation expectations have been broadly anchored, with a mean forecast that is within range for both 2024 and 2025,” Remolona said.

The Monetary Board also noted that previous adjustments have continued to work their way through the economy, “as can be seen from the declining path for core inflation.”

“In the coming quarters, the national government’s non-monetary interventions will remain crucial to sustain the disinflation process. Going forward, the BSP remains ready to adjust monetary policy settings as necessary, in line with its mandate to ensure price stability,” Remolona said.

Remolona explained key upside risks are associated with potential pressures emanating from higher transport charges, increased electricity rates, and higher oil prices.

Meanwhile, the impact of a relatively weak global recovery as well as government measures to mitigate the effects of El Niño weather conditions could reduce the central forecast.

“At the same time, the country’s medium-term growth prospects remain firm, with strong demand expected in the fourth quarter due to sustained consumer spending and improved labor market conditions. The BSP will also continue to monitor how firms and households are responding to tighter monetary policy conditions alongside evolving domestic and external economic conditions,” Remolona said.

Michael Ricafort, RCBC chief economist, said the move was “widely expected by the markets” as “there is no urgency for more local policy rate hikes amid relatively stronger peso, lower global oil prices, still relatively better weather conditions that help ease food prices.”

“All of these factors are still conducive to the better anchoring of inflation to within the 2 percent-4 percent target by early 2024,” Remolona said.

“Provided no escalation of geopolitical risks particularly on the Israel-Hamas war and the potential effects on world oil prices, also provided no large storm/El Nino drought damage that tends to increase food prices, for the rest of the year, headline inflation could be around 4 percent for December for a 2023 average of about 6 percent and could ease further to below the 2 to 4 percent BSP inflation target by January,” Ricafort said.

“Thus, easing inflation trend in recent months, still relatively stronger peso exchange rate versus the US dollar in about 4 months, and 5-month lows for global crude oil prices would support a pause in local policy rates, or at least reduce the urgency for any additional local policy rate hikes, especially if the Israel-Hamas war does not escalate in the Middle East,” he added.

The Monetary Board’s action came a few hours after the US central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged for the third straight meeting, at the 22-year high of 5.25 percent-5.50 percent target range, but started to signal possible Fed rate cuts for 2024.

Inflation continued slowing down, hitting a 20-year low in November, as the growth rates of the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages and transportation retreated further.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) yesterday said the consumer price index was at 4.1 percent in November from 4.9 percent the previous month.

The slowdown, however, was not enough to bring the national average, now at 6.2 percent, closer to the government’s full-year target range of between 2 and 4 percent.

PSA said the downtrend was primarily brought about by the lower year-on-year growth rate of the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 5.7 percent in November from 7.0 percent in October.

This was followed by transport with 0.8 percent annual decrease from 1.0 percent annual growth in October 2023.

The restaurants and accommodation services index with a slower inflation rate of 5.6 percent in November 2023 from 6.3 percent in the previous month also contributed to the downtrend of the overall inflation.

“Food inflation at the national level decelerated further to 5.8 percent in November 2023 from 7.1 percent in the previous month,” Dennis S. Mapa, national statistician and civil registrar general, said.

He added that the deceleration of food inflation was “primarily influenced by the annual decrease recorded in vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses.”

“Also contributing to the downtrend of food inflation were the slower annual increases observed in fish and other seafood and sugar, confectionery and desserts,” Mapa said.

Food contributed 49.3 percent or 2.0 percentage points to the overall inflation in November.

Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, decelerated further to 4.7 percent from 5.3 percent in the previous month. This brings the average core inflation from January to November to 6.8 percent.

Inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) also decelerated to 4.2 percent from 4.9 percent, while areas outside NCR also decelerated to 4.1 percent from 4.9 percent.

Mapa said all regions outside NCR recorded slower inflation rates during the month relative to their respective October 2023 annual rates, except for Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

“Among the regions, Region II (Cagayan Valley) still recorded the lowest inflation rate for the second consecutive month at 2.4 percent, while BARMM recorded the highest inflation at 5.9 percent during the month,” Mapa said.

TIGHT STANCE

Eli Remolona, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor, said the November inflation is within the central bank’s forecast range of 4.0 to 4.8 percent.

“The latest inflation outturn is consistent with the BSP’s projections that inflation will likely moderate over the near term due to easing supply-side price pressures and negative base effects,” he said, adding that “the balance of risks to the inflation outlook still leans significantly towards the upside.”

He said key upside risks are associated with the potential impact of higher transport charges, electricity rates and international oil prices, as well as higher-than-expected minimum wage adjustments in areas outside NCR.

Meanwhile, the impact of a weaker-than-expected global recovery as well as government measures to mitigate the effects of El Niño weather conditions could reduce the central forecast.

“Looking ahead, the Monetary Board deems it necessary to keep monetary policy settings sufficiently tight until a sustained downtrend in inflation becomes evident. The BSP will continue to monitor inflation expectations and second-round effects and take appropriate action as needed to bring inflation back to the target, in keeping with the BSP’s price stability mandate,” Remolona said.

The Monetary Board, which meets for the last time this year next week, decided to keep the key rates of the BSP during its last meeting as forecasts show inflation, although still above the government’s target, moderated over the policy horizon.

BSP’s Target Reverse Repurchase (RRP) Rate was kept at 6.50 percent.  The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities will still be at 6.0 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively.

Key rates are still at their highest in more than 16 years.

STABLE SUPPLY

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), meanwhile, said the further drop in the inflation rate can be attributed to the “timely implementation of strategies to stabilize food supply amid the anticipated domestic and external headwinds in the coming months.”

“With the right interventions in place, including the proper and timely deployment of trade policy, we are confident that we can effectively manage inflation and prevent unnecessary upticks in prices of goods and commodities to safeguard the purchasing power of Filipino families, especially those from the most vulnerable sectors,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

The country’s chief socioeconomic planner added that the government needs to continue monitoring the inflation situation in the face of continued price pressures coming from geopolitical tensions and extreme weather situations, further fueling uncertainty.

“The sharp drop in inflation for the month of November is a testament to the Marcos, Jr. administration’s whole-of-government effort to moderate rising commodity prices while protecting the most vulnerable sectors from its effects,” Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.

To help further reduce the upward pressures on the price of rice, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued a directive to implement various measures to ensure the affordability of rice prices and to protect consumers after lifting the price ceiling in October.

Furthermore, intensified investments in flood control infrastructures and post-harvest facilities will stabilize the supply of key agriculture commodities.

These efforts will complement the implementation of the El Niño Mitigation and Adaptation Plan, as well as the expedition of the government’s responses to mitigate the impact of calamities and natural disasters.

To ensure food security amid global threats of El Niño and other natural calamities, trade protectionism by other countries and geopolitical tensions, intensified efforts to increase agricultural productivity will be supplemented by measures to improve importation of what is only necessary.