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Rice import arrivals breached 500,000 metric tons (MT) as of end-February, according to the latest government data.

Figures from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) showed that 504,726.708 MT of rice shipments entered the country as of February 27.

Rice imports in February stood at 227,186.02 MT, 33.49 percent lower than the 341,585.69 MT recorded in the same period last year.

Of the volume that arrived in the Philippines, BPI data indicated that 370,908.42 MT came from Vietnam, the country’s top supplier of the food staple.

This was followed by Pakistan, accounting for 60,788.68 MT, and Thailand at 53,722.75 MT.

The South Asian nation dislodged Thailand as the Philippines’s second-largest supplier.

The Philippines also received stocks from other countries, such as Myanmar (11,315.00 MT), India (5,991.86 MT), and South Korea (2,000 MT).

Data from the BPI indicated that the agency approved and issued 937 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) for the purchase of 722,201 MT of imported rice. 

Rice importers are required to secure an SPSIC from the BPI to ensure that every inbound shipment is safe for human and animal consumption.

The country’s imported rice shipments hit 4.78 million metric tons (MMT) in 2024, nearly 33 percent higher than the 3.6 MMT imported in 2023.

Department of Agriculture (DA) official and industry sources said stunted palay output, lower tariffs, damage from ill-effects of El Niño, and anti-smuggling efforts catapulted the country’s rice imports to an all-time high in 2024.

Paddy rice output last year shrank by 4.85 percent to 19.09 MMT from 20.06 MMT in 2023, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The DA said that local farmers, fishers and livestock raisers lost P15.30 billion due to El Niño last year.

Meanwhile, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recorded a decline in global export prices in January, with Vietnamese prices falling by $55 to $394 per MT while Thai prices declined by $57 to $437 per MT with fewer sales to Indonesia.

“Pakistani quotes decreased $52 to $400 per MT and Indian quotes fell $34 to $410 per MT as India’s return to the export market continues to create downward pressure on global prices.”

It added that US prices dropped $30 to $697 per MT due to weaker sales to Latin America, while Uruguayan prices fell $32 to $668 per MT as buyers wait for the harvest of the new crop.

Source : businessmirror