MANILA, Philippines — The government’s advisory body on agriculture has recommended restoring the rice tariff to 35 percent while studying the possibility of raising it further to 55 percent to protect local farmers.
The Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) said yesterday that the recommendation came during its third quarter regular meeting where it reviewed outputs from its four working groups covering trade agreements and remedies, export development, anti-smuggling and border controls as well as monitoring and evaluation.
PCAF adopted a resolution supporting tariff adjustments at these levels on imported rice as a priority measure to shield local farmers from import competition and stabilize the domestic market.
The recommendation comes as President Marcos moves to tighten the country’s rice import policy by extending the current two-month import suspension and raising tariffs on foreign rice.
The move aims to stabilize palay prices and protect Filipino farmers during the peak of the harvest season.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. made the announcement yesterday, saying the President has directed his office to prepare the necessary orders to extend the import freeze.
“The duration of the import freeze and the possible increase in taxes on imported rice will be determined once we have more accurate data on supply and prices of palay at the farm gate,” Tiu Laurel said.
The import ban, which started on Sept. 1 and is scheduled to run until Nov. 2, was originally implemented to support farmers struggling with low palay prices caused by a spike in cheaper rice imports.
The DA said farm-gate palay prices temporarily climbed from P8 per kilo to about P14 before falling again as the main harvest began and heavy rains associated with La Niña affected crop quality.
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