Phl to allow more imported rice at lower duty

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government said today that it has agreed to raise the volume of imported of rice that may enter the country at a lower duty under the so- called minimum access volume (MAV) scheme of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In exchange for getting the nod of the WTO's Council for Trade in Goods to continue implementing import restrictions on rice, Philippine chief negotiator Romeo Recide said the MAV for rice has been increased to 805,000 metric tons (MT) from the previous 350, 000 MT.

The Philippine government had earlier said that the quantitative restrictions on rice will remain until 2017 after securing the approval of the Council for Trade in Goods for its request to extend its implementation.

The restriction has allowed the Philippines to limit the volume of rice which may enter the country. Under the scheme, Manila slaps a lower tariff of 40 percent for rice entering within MAV.

For rice imported outside of MAV, the government imposes a tariff of 50 percent.