Business group backs DA push to review rice tariff

MANILA, Philippines — The head of a local business organization said yesterday they are backing the Department of Agriculture’s move to revisit the country’s rice tariffication law, citing concerns over its impact on the sector.

Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) chairman Jesus Arranza told The STAR that the group wants the government to ensure farmers and local producers are protected before fully opening the market to imports.

“Liberalization can only be done if you have already fortified your local sector. What I mean is we should first fix the problems of our domestic industry,” Arranza said in a phone interview.
“You should have a strong domestic-based market. How can you be strong when the country is flooded by cheaper imports?” he added.

The business leader also warned that the benefits of the rice tariffication law have yet to reach farmers, arguing that the system for collecting and distributing tariffs is slow and inefficient.
“It takes time before you can use the tariffs because it takes time to collect it. When will it reach the farmers? It’s like a dead horse when it arrives,” he said, highlighting the need for reforms to ensure the law actually helps the intended beneficiaries on time.

Last Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. told lawmakers that it is time to amend the Rice Tariffication Law, warning that the measure threatens to undermine the country’s rice sector.

“Though crafted with noble goals, I have to admit, it has faltered. By fully liberalizing rice imports, it unintentionally undermined the Department of Agriculture and the (National Food Authority), stripping us of the ability to intervene and protect this most vital of commodities,” Tiu Laurel said at the hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform.

“As currently written, the (Rice Tariffication Law) does not reform the rice industry, it threatens to kill it,” he added.

Enacted in February 2019 under the Duterte administration, the law was meant to be a landmark reform for Philippine agriculture.

It ended decades-old rice import quotas, allowing private traders to bring in rice from other countries with only tariff payments as a requirement.