DA seeks higher rice tariff, import pause

Metro Manila, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture will be recommending a higher rice tariff and “temporary halt” to importation to protect farmers, Malacañang said on Monday, Aug. 4.

“The Cabinet will discuss this urgent matter with the President in India on the sidelines of his state visit,” read the statement from Communications Secretary Dave Gomez.

There was no specific figure mentioned in the statement, but Agriculture spokesperson Arnel de Mesa told reporters the DA is pushing for a “gradual increase” from 15 percent to 25 percent so as to “not shock the market.”

Effective July 2024, President Bongbong Marcos, through Executive Order 62, slashed rice tariff from 35 percent to 15 percent in a bid to address high retail prices.

De Mesa said the tariff hike will be beneficial as the conditions have changed since the issuance of the EO.

“Nu’ng una napakamahal ng presyo ng imported na bigas, umaabot ‘yan up to $700 per metric ton. Ngayon ay nasa level ng $300 plus or less than $400 per metric ton,” he said.

[Translation: Before, imported rice was expensive, with prices going up to $700 per metric ton. Now, the level is more than $300 but less than $400 per metric ton.]

He also said there’s good local production, especially with the “record harvest for the first semester of the year.”

Stakeholders want original rate

Agricultural group SINAG remains hopeful that the DA will recommend the reimposition of the 35 percent tariff, instead of its “calibrated” response.

“‘Pag kinalibrate mo, baka hindi siya enough, baka hindi matinag ang mga importers, hindi matinag ang mga millers, and still, babaratin pa rin ang ating mga farmers,” SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet told NewsWatch Plus.

[Translation: If it’s calibrated, maybe it won't be enough, and importers and millers will still lowball our farmers.]

He said the currently reported farmgate prices for palay range from P8 per kilogram to P10 kilogram, with some areas going down to P6/kg to P7/kg.

Industry stakeholders have called to reimpose the 35 percent tariff, according to the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries, an advisory body to the DA.

“Raising the tariff would likely increase the price of imported rice in the country,” the group said in a July 28 statement. “With the price increase of imported rice, this could protect local rice farmers by making their produce more competitive in terms of price and encourage domestic production.”

“The private sector partners from the committee underscored that rampant rice importation, particularly of cheaper foreign rice, has exerted immense downward pressure on domestic prices, severely impacting the livelihoods of Filipino rice farmers,” it said.

As of Aug. 2, varieties of imported commercial rice were sold in Metro Manila markets for P33 to P65 per kilogram. Meanwhile, local rice varieties cost P35/kg to P65/kg.

Rice prices have so far declined, with the Philippine Statistics Authority reporting in June a contraction of 14.3 percent from 12.8 percent in May.

Immediate action sought

SINAG also urged Marcos to request Congress to immediately act on an enabling law to reimpose the higher rice tariff.

The president can only “increase, reduce, or remove existing rates of import duty” if Congress is not in session, according to the law. The session will adjourn on Oct. 3.

“October is really late na kung doon pa lang natin itataas ang taripa,” Cainglet said. “I’m sure, the mere fact na sinabi ng DA na magtataas, lalong mag-uunahan ng mga importers ngayon na papasukin ng bigas, kasi nga, they will only pay 15 percent kumpara sa kung maibabalik na siya sa 35 percent.”

[Translation: October is really late for the implementation of the tariff increase. I’m sure, the mere fact that the DA announced the recommendation of a hike, importers will bring in their grains because they will only pay 15 percent rather than the original 35 percent.]

“Baka farmers have decided na talagang huwag nang magtanim kung pagdating ng harvest in the next harvest season, mas mababa pa sa P8 ang bibilhin sa kanila,” he said.

[Translation: Farmers might have decided not to plant if come harvest time, their crops will be bought for less than P8 per kilogram.]