According to the Ministry of Economics, Planning and Development (DEPDEV), the 15% tariff on imported rice will remain at least unchanged as the government seeks a “win-win-win-win-win-solution” solution to balance inflation control with protection of local farmers.
“Not direct [term]but most likely before November.
The lower tariffs were filed through Executive Order (EO) No. 62, which came into effect in July 2024 and reduced Rice’s import duties from 35% to 15%.
The news comes in a petition by farmers’ groups, including Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, to return to the initial 35% obligation to protect local producers from influx of cheap rice imports.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture said it is recommended to gradually increase tariffs in the next harvest season.
Ms Edillon said they met to discuss the review and petition and they agreed to periodic reviews aimed at reporting what was going on, rather than making recommendations at this stage.
The reduced tariffs appear to be meeting its inflation control targets. Rice prices fell 14.3% in June in June, down from 12.8% in May, according to data from the local bureau of statistics. This is the clearest decline since 1995.
Rice supply also seems to be stable. As of June, the country’s rice inventory reached 2.24 million tons (MT), 3.5% higher than the same period last year. “Most of them are still in the warehouse. In fact, we harvested the bumper in the first half,” Ms Eddillon said.
She added that rice imports will be limited to 3.5 million tons over the year.
The government is also exploring more measures to support farmers, including opportunities for enhanced funding for competitiveness in rice, to provide planting assistance.
DEPDEV is also involved in a discussion on whether to restore regulatory powers from the National Food Administration (NFA), which was deprived of many functions after Rice Tarifflaw.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said the House was ready to adopt a draft bill that aims to restore the NFA’s market function once it reached the Chamber of Commerce.
The Ministry of Agriculture said the draft legislation includes provisions to regulate rice marketing and set the parity of rice.
“I think the background was different at the time. So the NFA was in a lot of debt. It was really bleeding, bleeding,” Ms. Eddillon said. “It wasn’t really doing its mission … What we need to think about now is how the market adapts to the new regime.”
She also acknowledged the challenge of setting floor prices. “However, it will be very tricky to operate and even estimate it. But yes, this is something we are working on.” – Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
