DA to recommend raising rice tariff if prices drop to P42-P45/kilo

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Tuesday said his department would recommend raising the tariff rate for rice imports should retail rice prices go down significantly in time with its periodic review in the next four months.

At a news forum in Taguig City, Laurel floated the idea of raising the rice import tariff rate —reduced to 15% from 35% until 2028 under Executive Order No. 62— if conditions were favorable.

The Agriculture chief said EO 62 mandated a periodic review of the tariff rates every four months upon the order’s effectivity by July 6.

“The review will suffice to make sure that in case when the prices go down and the consumers are happy… then maybe we can raise the tariff rates again,” he said.

“So just in time by November, we believe world prices will have gone down… by that time India is expected to lift its export ban on rice,” he added.

The Agriculture chief said they could recommend raising the imported rice tariff if retail prices of rice go down “significantly” in the next four months.

Tiu Laurel said the DA was looking at a price range between P42 per kilo and P45 per kilo to suggest an increase in the imported rice tariff rate.

“Right now the price of well-milled rice is at P52 to P55 per kilo,” he said.

The DA chief said he understood the plight of the local rice farming  sector, but he underscored that there was a need to reduce the rice tariff  for now “because prices are [through] the roof.”

“There’s another issue of exchange rate… all of the burden goes to consumers,” Tiu Laurel said.

Nevertheless, the Agriculture chief said the DA would not neglect local farmers as “we have a program for giving more inputs to farmers to augment their  yields.”

Industry players earlier raised concerns that tariff reduction would not significantly lower rice prices and could also adversely affect local farmers since traders could lower buying prices for palay.

Should the President formalize the tariff cuts, farmers' groups said they would file a temporary restraining order against the measure. — DVM, GMA Integrated News