RICE TARIFF ON AGRICULTURAL GROUPS; PH REMAINS WORLD’S TOP IMPORTER

Government should bring down rice inflation and help local farmers (Photo courtesy of Philippine Star)

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently approved cut in rice tariff to 15% on imported rice this is to reduce rice prices to benefit consumers. On a report it is said that the Department of Agriculture (DA) recommended raising the tariff on rice to 50%.

In response to the report, Agriculture Undersecretary Asis Perez disclosed that the DA did not recommend the reduction. “Our recommendation is very different (from the 15 percent tariff). Our recommendation at the time – during the discussions at the CTRM (Committee on Tariff and Related Matters) – was to bring (the rice tariffs) back to 50 percent.”

Meanwhile, agriculture groups opposed the tariff reduction on agricultural products saying that this would not benefit farmers but would put pressure to lower palay’s farmgate price decreasing their income.

"The only worry is that if this tariff reduction is implemented and my biggest comment is the 4.1 million metric tons that they continued, and the DA did not change, the price of rice will really fall," Professor Teodoro Mendoza, who specializes in agriculture and crop science at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

Arze Glipo, Integrated Rural Development Foundation (IRDF) Executive Director said that, "At the end of the day, regardless of the drop in the price of rice, what the tariff reduction brings is a big impact on the price of rice. Farmers have not been able to recover from RTL, they are still in debt because of the drop in their income in 2019, this is also the case.”

With the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service projection that the Philippines will retain the top spot as the leading rice importer in the world. Worldwide rice stocks were expected to grow, “primarily on increases for the Philippines and Kenya” USDA said.

The Philippine’s rice import is estimated to reach 4.6 million metric tons (MT) in 2024, and will reach 4.7 million MT for 2025. Which meant that the country will retain the top spot for three consecutive years.

Source: ABS-CBN News 

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