Jasper Emmanuel Arcalas – The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) will push to increase the current 15 percent tariff on imported rice during the third periodic review to help lift local palay prices without rocking the retail market while market conditions are favorable.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. told The STAR that an increase in tariff would help lift prevailing palay farmgate prices, especially that the next harvest season is just a few months away.

Tiu Laurel did not give a specific increase in the rice tariff rate that they are looking to secure during the meeting.

“As long as it is increased,” Tiu Laurel said on the sidelines of the 2025 Post-SONA discussions yesterday.

“It will help lift palay prices and it won’t affect much (rice retail prices) as international prices are low,” Tiu Laurel added.

Rice traders track the landed cost of imported rice, which is significantly affected by prevailing tariff rate and factor it in in their buying price for locally produced palay.

Various industry groups have proposed the reversion of the rice tariff to its original rate of 35 percent to drive up palay farmgate prices.

The average farmgate price of palay in June declined by almost 32 percent year-on-year to P16.99 per kilo from P24.93 per kilo, based on Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data.

Tiu Laurel earlier disclosed that the DA supports a gradual increase in the rice tariff rate to prevent possible market shocks.

The government is set to review today the implementation of the 15 percent rice tariff, the third time since the rice tariff was slashed last year to its lowest rate in history.

The rice tariffs were slashed by the Marcos administration to tame rising prices of the commodity last year. The government mandated a periodic review of the rice tariff every four months.

Rice prices deflated in June by 14.3 percent compared to the 22.5 percent inflation posted in the same month last year, PSA data showed.

The best case scenario for the rice tariffs will be a gradual increase by as much as 10 percentage points or to 25 percent to cushion possible price spikes in the domestic market compared to a full reversion to 35 percent rate, sources told The STAR.

Rice prices will increase between P1 and P1.5 per kilo if tariffs are increased to as high as 25 percent, rice industry sources estimated.

A reversion to 35 percent rice tariff will mean an increase in retail prices of between P2 and P3 per kilo, they said.

Industry sources said that this is now the right time for the government to hike the rice tariff since global rice prices are on a downward trend due to ample world supply coupled by slowdown in demand from key importing countries.

For example, the average price of five percent broken Vietnam rice — the country’s most imported variety — in the first half fell by 32 percent year-on-year to $393.9 per metric ton, based on monitoring of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Likewise, the average price of fragrant variant of five percent broken Vietnam rice declined by more than a fifth to $489.7 per MT, based on FAO data.

Furthermore, the rice tariff hike must be implemented soon to ensure that farmers will have a higher level of protection once they begin harvesting in September since import clearances are valid for two months, a ranking official told The STAR.

The next rice tariff review will be in November, which sources noted, is already too late to increase rice tariffs and ensure that farmers benefit from such a protection.

Published Date: July 30, 2025