Farmers’ group opposes planned rice tariff cut

(REUTERS/File Photo)

MANILA, Philippines —  A farmer’s group on Thursday expressed its opposition to the planned cut in tariffs on rice imports that are supposed to curb inflation and reduce rice prices.

In a statement, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) claimed that previous adjustments in tariffs on corn, rice, and pork did not result in cheaper prices for consumers.

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto previously said the government plans to temporarily reduce rice tariffs below the already lowered rate of 35 percent to 17.5 percent, which could cut rice retail prices by P5 per kilo.

But FFF said that the P5 per kilo reduction is not guaranteed to reduce retail prices and “could depress palay prices by P3 per kilo if cheap imported rice is dumped into wholesale markets, where domestic rice is also sold by millers and traders.”

“This could result in a loss of Php 33 billion to rice farmers, who normally harvest 11 million tons of palay in the second half of the year,” FFF said.

“Moreover, assuming an additional 2 million tons of rice imports during the second semester, the DoF tariff proposal would mean foregone customs revenues of Php10 billion that are legally earmarked for rice farmers’ productivity programs. Together with the losses from lowered palay prices, farmers stand to lose a total of Php 43 billion from the proposed tariff cut for 2024 alone,” it added.

FFF National Manager Raul Montemayor noted that rice retail prices actually increased when the government reduced tariffs on non-ASEAN rice imports.

The FFF added that the decrease in tariff also “failed” to expand the Philippines’ rice resources beyond Vietnam and Thailand, with non-ASEAN countries accounting for less than four percent of total imports last year.