By Chynna Grace Ong

NO ban on rice imports is forthcoming because the country needs buffer stocks ahead of the dry months, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. told reporters Tuesday.

“There is a big El Niño coming in November and December. We have to have buffer rice stocks for December, and January, February, March, April next year,” the agri chief said at a public market monitoring activity with the media in Las Piñas.

As of Monday, the country has imported 3.3 million metric tons (MT) of rice, surpassing the 3-million MT mark, Tiu Laurel said, adding that he monitors import volumes weekly.

The pronouncement is a turnaround from last year’s stance, when the Agriculture department stopped importing rice from September to December to support farmgate prices during harvest season.

To avoid a price drop in local rice the government will buy 500,000 tons of palay from farmers this wet season, said Tiu Laurel, who also chairs the National Food Authority ( A) Council.

The A — which is tasked to ensure food security, maintain a rice buffer stock, and stabilize the supply and price of rice in the country — has been directed to step up palay procurement to cushion farmers from lower prices and sustain planting intentions amid the threat of El Niño.

Tiu Laurel said the A has been ordered to decongest its warehouses by September to make room for increased palay buying, and to ramp up the disposal of aging but good-quality stocks under the Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na program.

The A is targeting a minimum buying price of P21 per kilo for wet palay and P25 to P27/kg for dry palay, Tiu Laurel said.

This year’s palay procurement has been allocated P20 billion — more than double than last year’s P9-billion budget.

Palay production in the second quarter grew 5.7 percent to 4.62 million MT, up from 4.37 million MT a year earlier, though it slipped 0.6 percent to 9.02 million MT in Q1 from 9.07 million MT last year.

Meanwhile, there is likewise no need for the P50/kg price cap on 5-percent broken rice, Tiu Laurel said, citing stable market prices.

He reiterated the government’s call for rice importers to temporarily stop the shipment of 5-percent broken rice to support the local rice industry.

Published Date: August 5, 2026