Delay in agri shipments due to storms, disturbances —DA

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday said that delays in the shipping and delivery of imported agricultural products, including tons of rice, were caused by several storms and weather disturbances.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel issued the statement after the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said that port congestion was not the cause of the delay in the delivery of rice shipments in the country.

“The delay was caused by force majeure,” Tiu Laurel said, citing “data reviewed by the DA.”

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) earlier said there were more than 888 shipping vans that contain approximately 20 million kilograms of rice in the container yards of Manila ports.

Over the weekend, around 300 container vans have already been pulled out.

Tiu, meanwhile, said that the DA is looking into the companies allegedly involved in the container vans which were found to be sitting in Manila ports.

At a Palace press briefing, Laurel said the DA had found out that the companies were no longer existing.

''We checked that some of the companies, mukhang hindi na rin existing iyong companies eh. But, of course, we’re still going to pursue the investigation and we will get to the bottom of this,'' Laurel said. 

He said the DA is checking with its legal department whether the companies are still liable over the matter even if they were already closed, as initially reported. 

Cooperation

The DA chief, meanwhile, said a closer cooperation with BOC and PPA will also help the Agriculture Department “better time importation to enhance management of domestic food supply and ensure food security.”

“This would help improve our supply and price forecasting and avoid artificial shortages caused by product hoarding. Data that we will gather will also help us determine which importers to blacklist, if needed,” Tiu Laurel said.

The Agriculture chief also expressed appreciation for the prompt action of the PPA and BOC to facilitate the swift movement of imported agricultural products to increase supply in the market and, possibly, lower prices for Filipino consumers. 

He said that the DA is looking at adding requirements to the import permits issued by its agencies, particularly the Bureau of Plant Industry and Bureau of Animal Industry, to ensure that imported agricultural food products are immediately delivered to warehouses and sold to the market. 

Meanwhile, PPA General Manager Jay Santiago likewise committed cooperation with the DA on monitoring of food shipments, noting this arrangement will allow the agency to better manage movement of food containers in various seaports and contribute to the improvement of trade and economic activity. 

Santiago said by October 1, the PPA will send a report to the DA on the overstaying of imported agricultural food products and ask the BOC to declare these shipments as abandoned for proper disposition.

Retail prices

For his part, DA assistant secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa said even if those overstaying container vans are all loaded with rice, the volume is just a small percentage of the 3.9 million metric tons of imported rice and won’t affect rice prices in the market.

De Mesa added that the retail prices of rice are already starting to decline from around P50 a kilo to P42 for imported well-milled rice and P45 for local well-milled rice. 

Last week, Tiu Laurel said he expects rice prices to start easing by the middle of October as a result of the reduction in import tariff to 15% from 35% starting July 8. 

The DA said the full impact of the tariff cut may be felt in January 2025 as rice supplies bought before the tariff reduction are fully consumed.

DA data showed that between December 2023 to May 2024, rice importation averaged 422,000 metric tons per month, exceeding consumption by 102,000 tons per month. 

This resulted in an excess of approximately 612,000 metric tons of imported rice at the higher 35% tariff, enough to cover nearly two months of consumption. 

Ahead of the tariff reduction, rice imports decreased to around 176,000 metric tons per month in June and July. 

It increased to 385,000 metric tons in August, the DA data showed.

Higher freight costs and strong demand from Indonesia and Malaysia are also keeping global prices of rice elevated, according to the Agriculture Department.

—with reports from Anna Felicia Bajo/ VAL, GMA Integrated News