Rice import ban extended until year-end

Workers load sacks of imported rice from Thailand and Vietnam on a truck in Dagupan, Manila for transport to various dealers and distributors.  INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the extension of the rice import ban until the end of the year to help stabilize farm-gate prices of “palay” (unhusked rice), Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said on Sunday.

“With the import ban having little impact on retail prices and supply of rice but a significant effect on the farmgate price of palay, President Marcos deemed it necessary to extend the suspension for two more months,” Tiu Laurel said in a statement.

READ: Rice imports drop 16% amid ban on inbound cargoes

President Marcos initially suspended importation of regular and well-milled rice for two months from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 through Executive Order No. 93 to counter the sharp decline in palay prices ahead of the wet harvest season.

While the measure briefly lifted prices, the gains tapered off as the moratorium for rice imports neared its expiry.

A low of P8

Palay prices in major producing provinces such as Isabela and Nueva Ecija had climbed to P13 to P14 per kilo, from as low as P8 in some areas before the import freeze, he said.

Tiu Laurel earlier noted that over-importation and poor-quality harvests in some areas, worsened by bad weather, had depressed farm-gate prices, which had fallen to as low as P8 in some areas.

Reports from the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Regional Rice Program showed that prices peaked at P16.50 per kilo between Sept. 8 and 12 before easing to P13.50 by Sept. 15 to 19.

These prices were just slightly above the cost of production, which is between P12 and P14 a kilo.

The farm-gate prices, however, were still below the P17 per kilo of floor price for wet palay that the DA is eyeing following  Marcos’ EO 100, which authorized the DA to determine the palay floor price for government procurement.

Groups asked the government to gradually increase the tariff on imported rice to 35 percent. /cb