Rice prices to go down if...

MANILA, Philippines — Rice prices could go down by as much as P7 per kilo once the bill imposing tariffs on rice importation becomes a law in place of quantitative restriction (QR), Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said yesterday.

The measure – while also providing for some restriction – is expected to facilitate more rice importation compared with QR.

With more imported rice in the local market, retail prices of the staple would dip sharply.

He said the high cost of rice contributed a large part to rising inflation since January this year.

He added that retail prices increased significantly due to the failure of the National Food Authority (NFA) to bring in its importations at the right time.

The House of Representatives and the Senate have approved the conference committee report on the final version of the rice tariff bill. President Duterte is expected to sign it into law shortly.

According to Rep. Michael Romero of party-list group 1-Pacman, one of the bill’s authors, the measure retains the NFA but strips it of its authority to regulate rice importation through the issuance of permits.

“The NFA is not abolished, but its functions will henceforth be limited to such things as determining the buffer stocks level, maintenance of its warehouses for buffer stocks and issuance of rules on rice exports, if any,” he said.

He said the proposed law provides that NFA-issued import licenses “will soon be worthless.”

“The only list that will remain on who can import rice is the Bureau of Plant Industry list of importers with approved phytosanitary import clearances,” he added.

But Salceda said even at this late stage, the NFA is still fighting to retain its permit-issuing power.

Another author of the bill, Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, said the measure would set up a rice competitiveness enhancement fund out of rice import tariffs.

“The fund will help address the tight rural credit crunch and boost farm productivity,” he said.

In early 2017, President Duterte fired an undersecretary of then Cabinet secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. on suspicion of corruption on rice importation.