President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the suspension of rice importation for two months, in a bid to stabilize local palay prices and ensure that local farmers are not disadvantaged by cheaper imported rice.
In addition, he is also mulling over the recommendation of the Department of Agriculture to gradually increase the tariff on imported rice to 35 percent from the current 15 percent.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA would be evaluating the impact of the 2-month import suspension on the rice industry and the retail market before making another recommendation to the President. “If this strategy leads to higher farmgate prices and better income for our farmers, we may no longer need to raise the tariff,” he said.
The DA reported that bumper rice harvests across the world, the lifting of India’s rice export ban, and a record high of 9.08 million metric tons of palay produced by the Philippines in the first half of the year have put downward pressure on prices, particularly from exporting countries.
“With cheaper imports flooding the market, reports indicate that some private traders are now buying palay for as low as P8-10 per kilo, well below the production cost of P12-14 per kilo. Farmers have attributed this sharp decline to the influx of cheaper imported rice,” the DA said in a statement on Tuesday.
Although the intention seems good, Federation of Free Farmers national Manager Raul Montemayor said import suspension without raising tariff rates was “too little, too late” as shrewd importers could just advance the arrival of rice shipments to avoid the ban.
Protecting the local rice industry while keeping retail prices manageable was never going to be a simple task, and while the rice import suspension was implemented with our farmers in mind, only time will tell if the solution that has been chosen is helpful and timely, both for farmers and consumers.
As consumers, one thing we have to take note of is that if we want to help our local farmers and rice industry, we may have to chip in by paying the fair price. Whether that is worth it or not, we will soon find out.*
