By Janine Alexis Miguel

RICE imports have surpassed last year’s level, data from the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed, reaching a new record high of 4.25 million metric tons (MT) just before the end of November.

The latest report from the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry said that rice shipments as of Nov. 28 had surpassed the 2023 total of 3.61 million MT and the previous peak of 3.83 million MT that was hit in 2022.

From Nov. 1 to 28, rice shipments reached 378,725 MT, slowing from October’s 572,073 MT.

Vietnam remained the top rice exporter to the Philippines, accounting for over 3.26 million MT, or 76.9 percent of total imports.

Next was Thailand (544,724 MT), Pakistan (15,049 MT) and Myanmar (184,815 MT). The remaining shipments came from India, China, Japan, Cambodia, Italy and Spain.

Shipments markedly rose in August after the government slashed import tariffs on the commodity in a bid to keep inflation under control.

Prices, however, remain high and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has warned that the government could be forced to act if retailers were found to be profiteering.

The DA last week said that it would start selling lower-priced rice under the Kadiwa program in major public markets to give consumers a cheaper choice.

Tiu Laurel has noted that wholesale imported rice is priced at only P37 to P38 per kilo, but imported well-milled rice is being sold in local markets at nearly P48 per kilo.

Prices of local rice, meanwhile, range from P43.50 to P48 per kilo.

The United States Department of Agriculture has projected that Philippine rice imports could hit 4.7 million MT this year, with the country remaining the world’s top importer of the grain.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., meanwhile, said the volume could be close to 4.5 million MT due to impacts of successive typhoons that damaged rice fields and other planting areas.

Published Date: December 4, 2024