By ANNA FELICIA BAJO, TED CORDERO, GMA Integrated News

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. directed the suspension of all rice importation for 60 days starting September 1, 2025. 

Presidential Communications Office Acting Secretary Dave Gomez said this is to protect local farmers reeling from low palay prices during this current harvest season. 

The Agriculture Department said that the import ban applies only to well-milled and regular milled rice varieties. Fragrant or basmati rice varieties are excluded.

The President issued the directive after consulting with Cabinet members on the sidelines of his five-day state visit to India, and upon the recommendation of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.

The Department of Agriculture earlier recommended an increase in tariffs of imported rice due to the sharp drop in palay prices amid record-high production.

Tiu Laurel had said that increasing the rice import tariff from the current 15% could help curb excessive imports while generating much-needed revenue, which will later support programs aimed at boosting local farmers’ productivity and competitiveness.

According to Gomez, Marcos believed that it is not yet time to discuss tariff increases on imported rice.

“We will still see if we need to resort to that. Right now the decision is to suspend all rice importation for 60 days beginning Sept. 1. ‘Yan po ang utos ng ating mahal na Pangulo para matulungan ang ating mga magsasaka ng bigas (That is the order of our beloved President to help our rice farmers),” Gomez said in a brief message to reporters on Wednesday. 

To recall, the Marcos administration reduced rice tariffs to 15% to provide relief to consumers amid soaring world prices during that period.

The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), for its part, criticized the ”government’s delay” in imposing safeguards for local rice farmers, saying that many of them have been pushed into debt, with some questioning whether it is still worth planting at all.

‘Measured response’

In a statement, Tiu Laurel welcomed the President’s decision to suspend rice importation for 60 days—while holding off on a tariff hike, calling it a “measured response” to the current challenges faced by rice farmers.

“The suspension is a more calibrated action—one that we can quickly reverse if needed,” said the Agriculture chief.

“It gives us the flexibility to act fast to protect both our farmers and our consumers. A premature tariff hike, on the other hand, could backfire and would take much longer to undo,” added Tiu Laurel.

The DA chief further said, “We are walking a tightrope here. The stakes are high for both our farmers and the Filipino people, so it’s crucial that we strike the right balance.”

Citing reports, the DA chief said that, in some places, rice traders are buying palay at P8 a kilo—just two thirds of the amount spent by the most efficient farmers to produce a kilo of palay.

Tiu Laurel said the Agriculture Department will use the two-month import freeze to assess its effects on palay prices and the broader market.

“If this strategy leads to higher farmgate prices and better income for our farmers, we may no longer need to raise the tariff. What matters most is that we make a well-informed decision because millions of lives depend on the outcome,” he said. —KG/VBL, GMA Integrated News

Published Date: August 6, 2025