By: Jordeene B. Lagare – Reporter

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has recommended an increase in tariff on imported rice or a temporary suspension of imports to protect local farmers.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in an interview on Monday that the DA had proposed raising the import duty on rice to 25 percent from the current 15 percent, but to implement the hike gradually to prevent possible spikes in prices.

De Mesa, also the DA’s spokesperson, said it was about time to adjust the import duty on the staple food after the country attained record harvest in the first half of this year and global rice prices started declining.

The DA presented the proposal after data from the Philippine Rice Research Institute showed that the average price for fresh palay (unmilled rice) hovered around P11.50 a kilo.

In some areas, prices have dropped to as low as P6, substantially lower than the average production cost of P14.52 a kilo recorded by the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2024.

Presidential Communications Office Secretary Dave Gomez said in a statement on Monday that the Cabinet would discuss this “urgent matter” with the President on the sidelines of his state visit to India from Aug. 4 to Aug. 8.

Imported rice entering the country is slapped a 15-percent tariff until 2028 under Executive Order No. 62, which was signed by President Marcos in June last year, subject to a periodic review every four months.

Profiteering

Agricultural groups welcomed the DA’s pronouncement, hoping the tariff adjustment will be implemented as soon as possible to help arrest declining farm-gate prices of palay.

“We are relieved that the DA has finally acknowledged the problem, but we feel that they should have acted sooner and more decisively and not allowed prices to dip so low,” Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) national manager Raul Montemayor said in a statement.

Montemayor said raising tariffs would not automatically translate to higher retail prices if the government could curb profiteering among market players “more effectively.”

“The trading margin between import costs and retail prices averaged only about P13 per kilo before the rice crisis. In recent months, the margin ballooned to more than P20 per kilo despite the decline in international rice prices,” he noted.

Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. president Danilo Fausto said they hoped the government would not be too late in addressing this issue of declining farm prices.

“We fully support this move from the DA. I hope this could be implemented [as soon as possible] since harvests are currently ongoing in Nueva Ecija. I hope it’s not too late,” Fausto said in a Viber message.

Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura executive director Jayson Cainglet said they “categorically blame” the imposition of reduced rice tariffs for “the sharp and unprecedented drop in palay prices.”

Cainglet said the Marcos administration could not afford to wait any longer to lower the import duty on rice as any delays would severely hurt domestic farmers who were struggling with decreasing prices.

“A delayed directive risks driving palay prices even lower, further worsening the crisis faced by our rice farmers,” Cainglet added.

Montemayor proposed invoking the Safeguard Measures Act to impose provisional safeguard duties on top of current tariffs in case increased imports harm or threaten the sector.

The FFF said the government could set the tariff rate to a level that would temporarily discourage additional imports. —With a report from Dexter Cabalza

Published Date: August 5, 2025