MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine government may import only about "one-third" of its 2010 rice imports for this year, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

"Much, much lower, probably not even half, probably one-third," National Food Authority Administrator Angelito Banayo said when asked of the government's planned rice importation for 2011 compared to last year.

He explained that the Aquino administration has to slash its importation because there are still lots of stocks that have not yet been sold.

"We're giving the private sector a bigger role in importation so that the resources of government are not always strained by importation," he added.

The Philippines, the world's biggest buyer of rice, imported a record 2.45 million tons of the grain to meet its 2010 needs.