Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has warned that the country’s rice farming sector faces a grim future unless the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) is amended to restore stronger government control over rice importation and retail.

“I really feel that the RTL, as it is written today, will kill our rice industry. If it is not addressed, if it is not amended, it will kill the rice industry,” Tiu Laurel said, stressing the urgent need to revise the law that liberalized rice imports.

“Imported rice is creating a problem for local rice producers. It is eating market share, and that could force even local millers to close shop and just go into rice importation,” he added. “What is important to me is the stability of the local market.”

Tiu Laurel cited the Department of Agriculture’s recent success in streamlining the importation of sugar and onions as a model that could be replicated for rice—if enabled by an amended RTL.

He proposed limiting rice imports to cover only the supply gap, plus an additional two to three months of buffer stock—equivalent to roughly 750,000 to 1 million metric tons annually.

To support this policy shift, House Speaker Martin Romualdez has filed House Bill No. 1, or the RICE Act. The bill aims to restore the National Food Authority’s regulatory powers, authorize the Department of Agriculture (DA) to restrict imports—particularly during harvest season—and allow the government to set a floor price for palay.

Tiu Laurel noted that the RICE Act is a result of close collaboration between the DA and the Speaker’s office, but said the department will propose further refinements to ensure the long-term sustainability of local rice production.

The DA chief also plans to meet with other congressional leaders—including Senate President Francis Escudero and the chairpersons of the agriculture committees in both the Senate and the House—to rally support for amending the RTL.

Passed in 2019, the RTL opened the floodgates to largely unregulated rice imports by private traders, stripped the NFA of its regulatory functions, and confined its role to maintaining a buffer stock sourced from local palay.

Tariffs collected from imported rice were directed to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), designed to help farmers modernize through mechanization, input subsidies, and financial assistance.

In December, the RTL was amended to extend RCEF funding until 2031 and triple its annual budget to ₱30 billion. However, while the amendment authorizes the DA to import rice in cases of food security emergencies, it did not reinstate the NFA’s full mandate to manage and stabilize the domestic rice market. (AFID file photo)

Published Date: July 31, 2025