By Giselle P. Jordan  and Niña Myka Pauline Arceo

AN ongoing two-month suspension of rice imports will be extended by at least 30 days as the government moves to shore up palay buying prices, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said on Monday.

“I met with the President last week. It was decided that our import ban will be extended by a minimum of 30 days,” Tiu Laurel said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“It is possible that it will be until the end of the year, depending on the situation.”

The 60-day rice import suspension, which began on Sept. 1, was ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to address a steep decline in palay (unmilled rice) farmgate prices that was linked to the influx of cheap imported rice.

Palay buying prices, which were said to have fallen to as low as P8 per kilogram (kg) in some parts of the country prior to the import halt, briefly rose to around P14/kilo but have again fallen with the wet harvest season nearing its peak.

These have reportedly dropped to as low as P6/kg in regions like Northern Luzon where crops were recently damaged by bad weather.

“This is extremely alarming,” Tiu Laurel said.

Interventions to be put in place, in addition to the import suspension, include the issuance of several executive orders (EOs), one of which will set a floor price for palay. Another EO will prohibit local government units from purchasing imported rice.

President Marcos was said to have also “approved in principle” a request for an EO calling for emergency palay procurement, which will allow the National Food Authority to buy more unmilled rice from farmers.

Tiu Laurel said that higher rice import tariffs could also be reinstated after the import halt is lifted. Marcos last year slashed the duty to 15 percent, from 35 percent, in a bid to combat inflation.

Revenue impact seen ‘minimal’

The Bureau of Customs (BOC), meanwhile, said the revenue impact from an extended rice import suspension would be “minimal” and could be managed via improved collection efforts.

Ahead of Tiu Laurel’s announcement, Customs Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla told reporters last Thursday that an extension would “have an impact on revenue.”

While the BOC was “right now… short by a very minimal number… we’re talking about a three-month sacrifice for better stabilization of the prices and helping out our farmers,” he added.

“If at all, what the bureau can do is put in additional work to look for where we’re going to get that deficiency.”

Revenues, Maronilla said, are currently down by less than one percent against the year-to-date target as of August, and closing the gap would be “very achievable.”

The onset of the “ber” months is also expected to lead to stronger food consumption, which will generate revenues.

“Food is essential in the ‘ber’ months — not just rice,” Maronilla said. “If our countrymen don’t eat rice, they’ll shift to corn or bread, which will also generate revenue.

“There’s always an alternative consumption pattern, and we factor that in.”

The government is targeting to collect P4.3 trillion this year with Customs tasked with netting P959 billion. The bureau has collected P621.4 billion as of end-August, up from P614.4 billion last year, but the August take of P77.4 billion was lower than the year-earlier P85.18 billion.

Maronilla has previously said the bureau has an internal goal of collecting at least P30 billion more than the official target.

While an extended rice import halt will have an impact, Customs remains confident that tax targets are still within reach, he said last week.

“Every time you plug one item, an alternative item comes up,” Maronilla said.

“Because there’s consumption that’s being shifted. Either a buffer stock or something else that’s being consumed,” he added.

“Whatever volume you have here, it’s going to go to other alternative food items. That might not affect our farmers, and that’s better.”

Published Date: September 30, 2025