The interagency National Food Authority Council (NFAC) has approved the recommendation of the National Food Security Committee (NFSC) to allow the NFA to import 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice. NFA needs to import at least 752,560 MT of rice to meet its Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac)-mandated stock requirement of 30 days at the onset of the lean months. The national daily rice requirement is pegged at 32,720 MT. NFA imports committee is set to finalize and approve the guidelines for the importation of 805,000 MT of rice by private traders under the 2017 minimum access volume (MAV) scheme of the World Trade Organization. The NFA imports rice to augment its buffer stock during the lean months of July to September, when palay harvest significantly goes down due to harsh weather.