Philippines lifts curbs on rice imports

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is finally lifting the import curbs on rice after a series of extension on the imposition of quantitative restriction on the country’s most important staple crop over the past few years, an official of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

NEDA director Reynaldo Cancio told participants of a conference call organized by the Investor Relations Office late Thursday the Duterte administration has decided to import more rice by removing the QR on the product.

“Last week, the Cabinet decided to end the quantitative restriction on rice,” Cancio said.

The QR has allowed the government to limit the volume of rice that could be?imported by the Philippines every year. It protects local farmer by preventing the influx of cheap rice?imports.

In 2014, the Philippines under former President Benigno Aquino obtained a favorable response from the World Trade Organization on its bid to extend the use of QR to 2017.

The Philippines has appealed for an extension of the QR on rice thrice.

The extended QR slaps a 35-percent duty on imported rice under a minimum access volume (MAV) of 805,200 metric tons (MT). The government imposes a higher tariff of 50 percent on imported rice outside of the MAV limit.

Of the total volume, some 755,000 MT would be country-specific- quota with Vietnam and Thailand getting the bulk. The remaining 50,000 MT is omnibus volume that could be sourced anywhere.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol earlier said the Philippines should be rice self-sufficient in the next two years to be ready against the adverse effects of climate change.

Former socio-economic planning secretary and NEDA director general Arsenio Balisacan has been pushing for the lifting of the QR on rice to bring down the price of the staple.

Balisacan, who now heads the Philippine Competition Commission, earlier said the private sector should be allowed to take the lead in rice imports, while the government through the National Food Authority should simply facilitate the access to both the import and export markets.

Cancio said the dismal performance of the agriculture sector needs urgent attention.

Data released by NEDA showed the agriculture, fishery and forestry grew only 1.4 percent between 2010 and 2015 and even contracted 2.1 percent in the first quarter.

“To reverse the output decline in the agriculture sector, a comprehensive agricultural development program will be pursued. This includes better land administration, asset reform, improving access to technology and innovation, and moving up the value chain,” he added.

Food price, particularly rice, rose and poverty line increased by almost 30 percent between 2009 and 2015.

According to him, improvements in agricultural productivity would address the problem of high food prices.