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IF the government wants to better protect rice farmers and consumers alike, the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DepDev) said variable tariffs set on the country’s staple could be a solution.

On Thursday, DepDev Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan told reporters that the economic team needs to find a permanent solution that is not costly and will isolate farmers from price volatility.

Earlier, the National Sectoral Committee on Rice and Other Food Staples (NSC on Rice) proposed several measures that will arrest the slump in palay prices and boost the competitiveness of the local rice sector. 

“We hope we’ll be able to recommend something in the next few months. We’re just looking at, for example, the viability of variable tariffs so that farmers would not experience sharp swings in the prices that they face, but more predictable and stable prices,” Balisacan said.

Balisacan also explained that raising tariffs back to the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff rate for rice to 35 percent, in order to raise palay prices is not going to be easy because it will also be inflationary.

Former legislator Jose Sarte Salceda said that in July 2024, the government already reduced the MFN tariff on rice imports from 35 percent to 15 percent to stabilize prices.

However, Salceda said the main beneficiaries of the tariff reduction are not consumers or farmers but importers, traders, and millers.

“Increasing the tariff will also increase the price of rice for ordinary consumers. It will also increase inflation. And so we have to look at those different angles,” Balisacan said.

“But one thing is for sure, we want to protect farmers from sharp swings in prices. What will that entail? Yan ang pinag-aralan namin [That’s what we are studying],” he added.

Meanwhile, Balisacan said the 60-day suspension in rice importation ordered by the President will not have an impact on inflation.

One of the primary reasons is that the country still has a rice buffer for 40 days. This means even if the country does not import rice in September and October, the country will still have sufficient rice supply.

“And then [it’s] also production season and the expectations of the Department of Agriculture is that harvest will be good, because we did not have the kind of typhoon disturbances last year,” Balisacan added, partly in Filipino.

Earlier, the President ordered a 60-day suspension on rice importation, but withheld any tariff adjustments for now, to stop the slump in the farmgate price of palay (unhusked rice), according to Malacañang.

The chief executive granted the Department of Agriculture’s recommendation to temporarily halt rice importation starting 1 September 2025 “to protect local farmers [who are] reeling from low palay prices during this current harvest season.”

Marcos made the decision after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the average farmgate price of rice dropped to P16.99 per kilo last month from P24.93 per kilo in the same period in 2024 

Source : businessmirror