The Philippines yesterday declared a meals safety emergency with the intention to carry down the value of rice, which officers stated have remained excessive regardless of final 12 months’s cuts to the tariffs on imported rice.
In an announcement, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel stated that the transfer was prompted by the “extraordinary” rise in native rice costs, and got here on the advice of the Nationwide Value Coordinating Council (NPCC).
“This emergency declaration permits us to launch rice buffer shares held by the Nationwide Meals Authority to stabilize costs and be sure that rice, a staple meals for thousands and thousands of Filipinos, stays accessible to shoppers,” he said in the statement.
The Division of Agriculture stated that it plans to launch 300,000 metric tons of rice at present being stockpiled by the Nationwide Meals Authority (NFA) at a charge of 30,000 metric tons per thirty days.
These rice shares will likely be offered to authorities businesses, native governments, and retailers beneath the federal government’s Kadiwa ng Pangulo, or “rice for all,” program to “stabilize rice costs and shield shoppers from additional value hikes,” the DA stated. The discharge of rice shares can even enable the NFA to empty its warehouses in time for the harvest season.
Costs of the staple grain have been on the rise within the Philippines since July 2023, posing political challenges for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration. Based on the DA’s assertion, the costs of normal milled rice and well-milled rice in December 2024 have been about 19-20 % increased than earlier than the rise in July 2023.
These value will increase got here regardless of Marcos issuing an government order in June of final 12 months, slicing the tariff on imported rice from 35 % to fifteen %. In announcing the order, Marcos stated that the up to date tariff schedule “goals to enhance provide, handle costs and mood the inflationary pressures of assorted commodities, in keeping with the Philippine nationwide curiosity and the target of safeguarding the buying energy of Filipinos.”
The implementation of the lowered tariff and the federal government’s different efforts to make rice extra accessible, together with the Kadiwa ng Pangulo, have helped tame retail costs to some extent final 12 months. However because the U.S. Division of Agriculture’s International Agricultural Service (FAS) famous in September, retail costs “stay typically elevated in comparison with the identical interval final 12 months regardless of tariff cuts.”
In addition to declaring the meals safety emergency, the Philippine Star additionally reported that the DA plans to gradually lower the value cap on imported rice in Metro Manila markets, which is at present set at P58 ($0.99) per kilogram. Beginning February 5, imported rice will likely be capped at P55 ($0.94) per kilogram. The DA goals to cut back the value by P49 ($0.84) in March.
The Philippines is the most important purchaser of rice on this planet, importing round 4 million metric tons of the staple per 12 months to make up the shortfall in native manufacturing. The bulk comes from Vietnam, which early final 12 months agreed to provide the Philippines with a further 1.5 -2 million metric tons of white rice at a “aggressive and reasonably priced value” for every of the following 5 years.
Based on the FAS, the nation is projected to provide 12.69 million tons of milled rice in 2024-25, whereas consuming a projected 17.3 million tons.
