‘20,000 MT rice used as excuse for EO 62 failure’

September 23, 2024 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Farmers’ group Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) said over the weekend that the government is using the 20,000 metric tons of imported rice lying idle at the Port of Manila as an excuse to justify the failure of Executive Order (EO) No. 62 to bring down the retail price of the staple.

“We are doubtful whether the 20 million kilos or 20,000 tons in the pier has any impact on prices. It is less than four percent of the 530,000 tons that arrived from July to August at 15 percent,” FFF national manager Raul Montemayor said.

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has said that traders have yet to claim the P555 million worth of imported rice inside the 888 container vans at the Port of Manila.

“At least 96 percent of the arrivals are already out in the market. Also, it doesn’t make sense why they will hold on to these stocks when prices will foreseeably go down when new harvests come in. (Officials are) just using this as an excuse for why the tariff reduction was not effective,” Montemayor added.

PPA General Manager Jay Santiago said that consignees might be deliberately delaying the withdrawal of imported rice in anticipation of higher market prices.

EO 62 took effect on July 7. Authorities said the lowering of tariff from 35 percent to 15 percent will result in at least P7 per kilo drop in the retail prices of the staple.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has moved their forecast on full impact of EO 62 to January 2025 from October 2024, saying the demand for food usually spikes in December.

Based on the monitoring of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Metro Manila markets, the retail price of imported regular milled rice is sold for as high as P50 per kilo; imported well-milled rice for as high as P55 per kilo; imported premium rice at P60 per kilo; and imported special rice at P65 per kilo.

Former Agriculture secretary Leonardo Montemayor said that farmers are suffering from the effects of the 15- percent drop in the farmgate of palay, saying the buying price ranged between P15 and P17 per kilo.

He warned that the farmgate prices would further go down unless the government provides the necessary interventions.

Montemayor added that the breakeven farmgate price of palay is P17 per kilo while last year, the farmgate price of palay was between P23 and P25 per kilo.