FOR THE LONGEST time, people must be wondering the logic behind the government’s preference to import rice—even at the expense of local farmers.
For one, the Department of Agriculture is banking on an equation that more imports translates to more tariff collection to bolster the Rice Tariffication Law to fund production subsidies to farmers.
It is not surprising then that rice arrivals keep surging year by year. Imported rice arrivals during the first half surged to over 2.7 million metric tons (MMT) supposedly due to the global oil crisis from the ongoing Iran-Israeli war that jacked up inputs costs (again the penchant for continuously increasing imported urea over locally available biofertilizers and other alternative soil/crop enhancers) and concerns over the coming El Niño on local output.
The Bureau of Plant Industry said imports from January to June leapt by 20.1 percent to 2.75MMT, from 2.29MMT (for the comparative period in 2025, which for the entire year hit over 4 MMT).
Since liberalized importation began in 2019 following the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), the latest first-half figure is the highest since the law took effect, Business Mirror reported.
DA spokesman Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the spike in rice shipments during the period was a “natural response” from the market given the challenges that the local rice sector had to hurdle.
He said the damage on the Upper Pampanga River Irrigation System (UPRIS) during the first quarter affected more than 30,000 hectares of rice lands.
As these areas recovered, De Mesa noted that compounding factors, such as the hike in fertilizer and pump prices due to the United States-Iran war and concerns over the impact of El Niño affected production.
“These challenges posted an issue (on local production), which is why it’s important that the market is responding to (consumers’) needs,” he told DA reporters. “It’s a natural response from the market and will help ensure stable retail rice prices.”
To prevent a plunge in farmgate prices amid the surge in imports, he said the DA will take a “proactive stance” as the wet harvest season nears, including the increase in the National Food Authority’s (NFA) buying price.
De Mesa also noted that a possible decline in rice shipments could prevent farmgate prices of palay from nosediving, citing an agreement with stakeholders to halt the importation of 5 percent broken rice starting this month.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said recently that the Department of Agriculture (DA) had asked importers to stop bringing in 5-percent broken rice starting this month, as it poses stiff competition to local palay.
With the proposed RICE Act—yet another amendment to the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL)—currently pending in Congress, Laurel is banking on stakeholder cooperation to carry out the initiative.
“We will talk with rice stakeholders as much as we can. If the new RICE Act comes out, I won’t allow the entry of 5-percent broken rice, but for now we’ll settle with talking them through it,” he said in a recent interview.
The DA chief said he met with stakeholders across the supply chain, including farmers, millers, traders, and importers, all of which have “agreed in principle” to the measure.
“The key here is cooperation. The importer needs to help our farmers and our processors. If not, they will just lobby against each other and end up hurting themselves.
Curiously, the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) has adopted the DA’s recommendation to extend for another two months the P50 per kilo price ceiling on imported rice because it made inflation eased a bit.
De Mesa said the NPCC has endorsed the resolution on the price cap to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for approval.
This, as the P50/kilo price cap on 5 percent broken imported rice imposed by the government lapsed last June 13.
“We’ve seen that the price cap had an effect on retail rice prices since inflation eased because of it. This is why the NPCC recommended extending it for another two months,” De Mesa said..
We have to wait for the review process of the Office of the President.”
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that headline inflation slowed to 6.4 percent in June from 6.8 percent in May.
Food inflation slowed to 5.4 percent from 5.8 percent. Rice inflation eased to 15 percent from 15.6 percent, while fish inflation fell to 7.8 percent from 8.8 percent.
Inflation for the bottom 30 percent of income households slowed to 8 percent in June from 8.4 percent in May, Business Mirror noted.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages continued to be the biggest contributor to overall inflation, accounting for 2 percentage points of the June headline rate.
Laurel is pushing for the price cap’s extension along with measures to maintain sufficient inventories and enhance the movement of food from farms to markets.
“The latest inflation numbers show that keeping food affordable delivers real benefits to Filipino families, especially those who spend a large portion of their income on basic necessities,” he said.
We must continue ensuring adequate supply, efficient distribution, and reasonable prices, particularly for rice, so inflation remains manageable while consumers and farmers alike are protected.”