RICE import tariffs will remain unchanged despite a proposal to increase the rate as a means of raising farmer incomes, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.
“There’s no plan,” the Finance chief told reporters on Monday.
Malacañang last week said the Department of Agriculture had recommended a halt to rice imports and an increase in the current rice import tariff of 15 percent “to protect farmers.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. subsequently ordered a 60-day halt to rice imports beginning September, but has yet to act on the tariff proposal.
Recto said the president had only approved import halt, which is unlikely to be extended beyond October as it is primarily aimed at addressing supply issues during the harvest season.
Under Republic Act 12078, or the amended Rice Tariffication Law implemented last December, the president may suspend importation when there is an excessive supply in the market. This could go on for a specified period or volume until rice supply and rice prices stabilize.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said consultations would be made with regard to further policy moves.
“We will be meeting our technical group in consultation with various parties including farmers, and we are preparing the study ... that will serve as our informed basis for making decisions or our recommendation at least,” he said.
“We are studying how best to support farmers’ incomes, particularly in terms of the prices they receive. Because if you look closely at the data, the retail prices respond differently from farmgate prices with respect to the world price,” he added.
This means the government has to use additional tools to address the concerns of the various parties, Balisacan said.
He said there were three factors to consider — farmers and the prices they get, consumers and the overall economy including inflation and wages — and added that these needed to be balanced so that everyone benefits.
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