No Palace order to stop rice importation

The USDA-FAS has projected the country’s rice imports to reach a record 3 million metric tons (MT) by year-end — the highest in the world and the highest for the country while China is expected to import 2.5 million MT. (File Photo: National Food Authority/Facebook)

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte did not order Agriculture Secretary William Dar to implement any suspension of rice importation, Malacañang said on Monday.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this clarification following reports that the President ordered the suspension of rice importation amid farmers’ woes resulting from the Rice Tariffication Law.

“As of this time there is no order to stop rice importation given the [sic] Sec Dar of the Department of Agriculture per the latter,” Panelo said in a message to reporters.

In an exclusive interview with GMA News last Friday, Duterte said government should start purchasing local rice to help the local farmers.

Duterte signed the Rice Tariffication Law last February to allow unlimited rice importation, but investors must first secure a phytosanitary permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry and pay the 35-percent tariff for shipments from Southeast Asia.

Farmer groups have blamed the law for the falling farm gate prices of palay which fell to as low as PHP7 in Central Luzon.

Recently, data from the United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agriculture Services (USDA-FAS) showed that the Philippines has emerged as the top global importer of rice, beating China.

The USDA-FAS has projected the country’s rice imports to reach a record 3 million metric tons (MT) by year-end — the highest in the world and the highest for the country while China is expected to import 2.5 million MT.

Panelo earlier said Malacañang recognizes the Philippines’ long-standing problem of relying on rice imports to meet demand but assured the public that government is working to address it.

He acknowledged that the Philippines is trailing behind its Southeast Asian neighbors, stressing that the country’s irrigation system needs improvement.

The DA has provided cash assistance to affected farmers tilling one hectare and below in view of the declining palay prices since the Rice Tariffication Law took effect.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the cash assistance was a one-time cash-out and this would be taken from the tariff being collected out of the law.

It has also began implementing stricter sanitary and phytosanitary measures on the issuance of import clearance to address the huge entry of imported rice and curb poor quality rice imports.