By: Jordeene B. Lagare – Reporter / @jordeenelagare

Industry stakeholders have proposed reinstating the 35 percent tariff on imported rice to safeguard local palay farmers as prices for local produce decline.

“The private sector partners from the Committee underscored that rampant rice importation, particularly of cheaper foreign rice, has exerted immense downward pressure on domestic prices, severely impacting the livelihoods of Filipino rice farmers,” the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (Pcaf) said in a statement.

The Pcaf, the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) advisory body, said this was one of the proposals floated in a special meeting recently convened by the National Sectoral Committee on Rice and Other Food Staples.

In the said meeting, stakeholders said imposing a higher tariff will likely increase the price of imported rice.

“With the price increase of imported rice, this could protect local rice farmers by making their produce more competitive in terms of price and encourage domestic production,” it added.

Data from the Philippine Rice Research Institute showed that the average price for fresh palay (unmilled rice) hovered around P11.50 per kilogram (kg).

However, in some areas, prices have declined to as low as P6 per kg—substantially below the average production cost of P14.52 per kg in 2024, based on data at the Philippine Statistics Authority.

At present, all inbound rice shipments are subject to a 15 percent tariff until 2028. This is under Executive Order No. 62 which President Marcos signed in June last year. This is subject to a periodic review every four months.

The DA had proposed a “gradual and well-timed” rice tariff hike to minimize its impact on both local and global markets. It also proposed applying the higher import duty to coincide with the harvest seasons of major rice suppliers—around late September for Vietnam and December for Pakistan.

Enacted in 2019, the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) liberalized rice imports by replacing import quantitative restrictions with tariffs.

In exchange, tariff revenues from imported rice are used to finance various programs for local farmers through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

President Marcos signed the law amending the RTL in December last year, which tripled the RCEF funding to P30 billion annually until 2031 and authorized the DA to declare a food security emergency in the event of higher prices.

Although the National Food Authority’s regulatory functions were not restored, it is still mandated to maintain an optimal level of national rice inventory for emergency or calamity situations and the government’s disaster relief efforts.

In the same meeting, the Pcaf said the committee recommended restoring the NFA’s mandate to allow conditional market interventions during crises. This, along with expanding and decentralizing the grains agency’s procurement capacity, including mobile buying stations and rural field operations.

They also suggested regulating traders to ensure fair pricing and prevent market manipulation. They further suggested investing in community drying, storage and logistics infrastructure to reduce postharvest losses and improve palay quality.

Further, the committee proposed mandating government-owned or -controlled corporations and nongovernment agencies to procure local rice through the NFA for employee rice allowances to ease oversupply and support farm-gate prices. INQ

Published Date: August 4, 2025