MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is likely to extend the current rice import ban until the end of the year to help stabilize farmgate prices, with new measures also being prepared to support local farmers.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said yesterday he met with President Marcos last week, where they agreed to extend the ban by at least 30 days.
“It is possible that the ban could be extended until the end of the year, depending on the situation,” Tiu Laurel told reporters in an interview at the House of Representatives in Quezon City.
“I also talked to our rice millers and local rice traders last week. They are actually requesting the import ban to be extended until the end of this year,” he added.
Tiu Laurel said the price of palay, or unhusked rice, has dropped again, prompting the government to consider extending the import ban and drafting additional measures to support local farmers.
Among these measures is an executive order that will prohibit local government units and other government offices from buying imported rice to help rice farmers.
Tiu Laurel also said the government may increase tariffs once the import ban ends and will issue an executive order to set a floor price for rice.
Another measure to ease rice prices is to sell P20 rice for one month to households in typhoon-affected areas such as Masbate and Eastern Samar.
Each household could buy up to 30 kilos of the staple grain, the agriculture official said.
The 60-day rice import ban that began in September was implemented by the Marcos administration to help stabilize farmgate prices and shield local farmers during the harvest season.
During his 2022 election campaign, Marcos pledged to lower the retail price of rice to P20 per kilo, a commitment that has since drawn close public attention to both price fluctuations and government actions in the rice sector.
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