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MANILA, Philippines —  The government’s rice tariff collection in 2025 fell by more than half on an annual basis to P13.7 billion as import volume skid to its lowest level in four years, coupled with a historic low tariff rate.

Preliminary Bureau of Customs (BOC) data showed that it collected P13.7 billion in rice tariffs last year, down 60 percent from the P34 billion recorded in 2024.

The plunge in tariff collection has been widely expected by rice industry stakeholders and government officials since the tariff rate on the commodity has been reduced to 15 percent from 35 percent.

Furthermore, the decision of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to impose an import ban beginning Sept. 1 last year restricted the entry of foreign rice supplies in the domestic market.

Rice import volume last year declined by 26 percent year-on-year to some 3.48 million metric tons, the lowest level since 2022, based on BOC figures.

The average volume of imported rice in the fourth quarter of last year was around 38,000 MT, nowhere near the 491,000 MT average in the same period of 2023, BOC data showed.

BOC data also showed that the only imported rice supplies in the fourth quarter were special varieties such as Japonica, glutinous and Basmati, which were all exempted from the import ban.

The average tariffs collected from rice imports in the fourth quarter of 2025 stood at only P169 million, based on BOC data.

The BOC collected the most rice tariffs in May 2025 at nearly P2.2 billion as imports hit almost 540,000 MT.

Rice tariff collections have been critical since the government liberalized the country’s rice trade regime in 2019, because they are earmarked into a fund that aims to modernize the local rice sector.

The government is annually appropriating P30 billion for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), which has been extended until 2031.

In the event that rice tariffs collected fall below P30 billion, the deficiency would be sourced from the regular budget of the DA, under Republic Act 12078.

The P30-billion budget for RCEF this year has been guaranteed under the General Appropriations Act of 2026.

Vietnam is poised to remain as the country’s top rice supplier with a volume of at least 2.73 million MT, based on a separate report issued by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).

The BPI report indicated that Vietnam was followed by Myanmar at 343,000 MT and Thailand at 176,000 MT. There were a total of 13 countries that supplied the Philippines with rice stocks last year including Pakistan, India and South Korea, according to BPI.

The government will begin the implementation of a flexible rice tariff scheme this year wherein the tariff rate may increase or decrease depending on the movement of global rice prices.

The measure is aimed at ensuring that the tariff rate affords sufficient level of protection to local rice producers while balancing the need for cheaper staple food for the greater Filipino population.

Furthermore, rice importation is expected to resume this month with a higher tariff rate of 20 percent. The DA expects total rice imports this year to fall between 3.6 million and 3.8 million MT, which is estimated to be enough to plug the shortfall in domestic stocks without depressing farmgate prices.

Source : msn