THE Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) on Thursday again asked the government to immediately reimpose the 35-percent tariff rate on rice imports to address the recurring drop in palay (unmilled rice) farmgate prices.
More than a year ago, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order 62 reducing rice import tariffs from 35 to 15 percent, in an effort to control a surge in rice prices in the country.
But a decline in the cost of rice abroad resulted in an oversupply of cheap imported rice in the country — which the FFF said caused palay farmgate prices to drop to as low as P8 per kilogram (kg) in some parts of the country during the dry season harvest in April to June.
The situation improved when Marcos announced a 60-day suspension of rice imports starting this month. However, the farmers' group said the problem was back as the wet season harvest began.
“Palay traders foresee that cheap imported rice subjected to the low 15-percent tariff will flood the market again once the import ban is lifted in November. This forces them to buy at low prices in order to compete,“ FFF national manager Raul Montemayor said.
“The proposal to extend the import ban for another 15 to 30 days will not change this perception,“ he argued, adding that the solution is to restore the 35-percent tariff rate on imported rice.
This should not necessarily translate to higher retail prices for consumers, “given the large margins currently being enjoyed by importers, wholesalers, and retailers,“ Montemayor noted.
FFF also criticized the National Food Authority (NFA) for its failure to buy more palay from local farmers due to lack of available warehouse space caused by slow outflow of rice stocks, resulting in aging stocks.
To address the issue, the FFF suggested coordinating with large farmer cooperatives for use as satellite buying stations of the NFA.
“These cooperatives have warehouses, driers, trucks, personnel and other assets that can help the NFA buy, store, mill and distribute its stocks at lesser cost,“ said Montemayor.
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