THE 15% TARIFF on imported rice will remain unchanged not less than until November, in accordance with the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), as the federal government seeks a “win-win” solution that balances inflation control with protecting local farmers.
“Not within the immediate [term], but probably by November,” DEPDev Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie G. Edillon told a news briefing on Wednesday. “After 4 months, we are going to submit the study to the President.”
The lower tariff was introduced through Executive Order (EO) No. 62, which took effect in July 2024 and slashed the import duty on rice to fifteen% from 35% until 2028. The EO mandates a review every 4 months to evaluate its impact.
The announcement comes amid a petition from farmer groups, including the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, to return to the unique 35% duty to shield local producers from the influx of cheaper rice imports.
The Department of Agriculture, meanwhile, said it might recommend a gradual tariff increase in the course of the next harvest season.
Ms. Edillon said they met to debate the review and petition, and so they agreed that the periodic review is supposed to report on what has happened, to not make recommendations at this stage.
The lowered tariff appears to be achieving its inflation-control goals. Rice prices dropped by 14.3% in June, improving from the 12.8% decline in May, in accordance with the local statistics agency. It was the sharpest drop since 1995.
Rice supply also appears to be stable. As of June, the country’s rice inventory reached 2.24 million metric tons (MT), 3.5% greater than a 12 months earlier. “Most of them are still within the warehouses. And we had the bumper harvest, actually, for the primary half,” Ms. Edillon said.
She added that the rice import volume can be capped at 3.5 million MT for the 12 months.
The federal government can also be exploring more measures to support farmers, including enhanced access to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which provides planting assistance.
The DEPDev can also be participating in discussions on whether to revive the regulatory powers of the National Food Authority (NFA), which was stripped of many functions following the Rice Tariffication Law.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said the House of Representatives is able to act on a draft bill that seeks to reinstate the NFA’s market functions once it reaches the chamber.
The Agriculture department has said the draft laws includes provisions for the NFA to administer buffer stocks, regulate rice marketing and set floor prices for rough rice.
“I feel at the moment, the context was different. So NFA was a lot in debt. It was really bleeding, hemorrhaging,” Ms. Edillon said, referring to the agency’s former monopoly on imports. “It was not likely fulfilling its mandate… What we’d like to contemplate now’s how the market has adjusted to the brand new regime.”
She also acknowledged the challenges in setting floor prices. “It’s going to be very tricky though, operationalizing it and even estimating it. But yes, that’s something that we’re studying as well.” — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante