AGRICULTURE Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Thursday proposed limiting rice imports to around 750,000 metric tons (MT) to one million MT annually, only enough to cover supply gaps and maintain two to three months of buffer stock.
“Imported rice is creating a problem for local rice producers,” he said. “It is eating market share, and that could force even local millers to close shop and just go into rice importation.”
The country’s rice imports reached a record high of 4.8 million MT last year, surpassing the previous peak of 3.86 million MT in 2022.
The US Department of Agriculture has said that imports could hit record highs of 5.4 million MT in 2025 and 5.5 million MT in 2026, forecasts that its Philippine counterpart said were “exaggerated.”
Tiu Laurel expressed optimism that the country would post record harvests this year after the Philippine Statistics Authority reported higher palay (unmilled rice) and corn production for the first half.
“Palay and corn production for the January-June semester gives us hope for a better year for agriculture despite the challenges we now face,” he said.
Palay output reached 9.08 million MT in the first half, a 6.4-percent increase from the 8.53 million MT recorded a year earlier. This was said to be the second time that production had breached million MT in the first half since 2023.
With first-half harvests half typically accounting for over 40 percent of the annual production, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the country could even surpass the palay production target of 20.46 million MT for 2025.
Corn production, meanwhile, saw a 5.21-percent increase to 3.9 million MT from 3.71 million MT in January-June last year.
Tiu Laurel said the output growth was driven by improved weather conditions in the second quarter as well as continued government support.
Be the first to comment