Metro Manila, Philippines – The country will import around half a million metric tons (MT) of rice in January after a four-month import hiatus, and under a higher tariff schedule, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.
Tiu Laurel said 450,000 MT will be opened for stakeholders while the remaining 50,000 MT will be reserved for government agencies.
In a statement on Tuesday, Dec. 16, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the Bureau of Plant Industry will begin processing applications for sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances ahead of the end of the import ban.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. initially ordered a two-month pause on imports effective September and extended it to year-end. It aimed to protect farmers from low farmgate prices on palay because of the entry of foreign grain.
“All shipments must arrive by mid-February to prevent imported rice from weighing on palay prices at the start of the summer harvest,” the DA said.
By Jan. 1, the tariff on rice imports will be 20 percent from the current 15 percent. The Economy and Development Council adopted the “gradual and flexible” tariff adjustment on rice.
“The tariff increase reflects several realities—the recent depreciation of the peso and the likelihood of higher global prices once the Philippines reenters the market,” Tiu Laurel was quoted in the DA statement.
Marcos cut the tariff from 35 percent to 15 percent in June last year.
Asked whether the DA is inclined to further raise tariff next year, Tiu Laurel told reporters on Monday: “It depends sa price ng [on the prices in the] world market.”
Import mechanism, 2026 projection
After the January-February window, Tiu Laurel said importation may continue under a new policy.
“Importation tuloy-tuloy na the whole year,” the DA chief told reporters. “Now, it’s just a quantity, depende sa harvest season. Before harvest, dapat maliit ang quantity para nga ang palay natin [maka-compete].”
[Translation: Importation will continue the whole year. Now, it’s just a quantity depending on the harvest season. Before harvest, the quantities should be in limited amounts to allow local palay to compete.]
By the second half of 2026, Tiu Laurel said the DA may introduce a new mechanism whereby industry players can import in exchange for voluntary purchase of palay or rice from local farmers.
He said the rice importation policies were still in a “trial period” as agreed upon with stakeholders amid the DA’s push to further amend the rice tariffication law.
The law replaced quantitative restrictions on rice imports with tariffs.
In 2026, Tiu Laurel said the DA is forecasting palay output at 20.3 million MT (MMT), higher than the estimated 19.61 MMT to 19.89 MMT of harvest this year.
For rice imports, he said they project the volume at around 3.6 MMT to 3.8 MMT. Rice import figures this year were affected by the import ban, equivalent to a projection of 3.5 MMT.
