Philippines negotiating rice supply deals with Pakistan, India

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is in talks with the governments of Pakistan and India for rice supply deals to meet the Philippines’ import requirements and create a more competitive market.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said yesterday that the DA is in talks with envoys from Pakistan and India to get commitments for the supply of two million metric tons (MT) of rice to meet the Philippines’ import requirements, if needed.

Tiu Laurel met with Pakistani Ambassador Imtiaz Ahmad Kazi to finalize a memorandum of understanding, under which the South Asian country would allocate for the Philippines up to one million metric tons of rice annually, according to the DA.

The DA said similar negotiations are underway with India.

“The intention is to create a level playing field among our rice supplying nations,” Tiu Laurel said.

“We want them to compete for our market,” he added.

The prospective supply deals align with President Marcos’ goal of diversifying the country’s rice sources and reducing the cost of the staple, making it more affordable for consumers, according to the DA.

Currently, Vietnam is the Philippines’ primary rice supplier, accounting for at least 75 percent of annual import volume.

In January, the Philippines and Vietnam signed an agreement for a five-year rice quota of 1.5 million to two million metric tons, the DA said.

Last month, Kazi disclosed that Pakistan wants to increase its share in the Philippines’ rice market by forging a bilateral memorandum of agreement with the government.

Kazi said the South Asian country stands ready to expand its rice exports to the country to as much as one million MT.

“We want to increase that share, provided we can also provide a stable, good supply of rice. And that depends on mutual conditions for each other, which means that the Philippines should guarantee us that they want this much rice every year,” he said.

Under a memorandum of agreement, Kazi said Pakistan would have a guarantee of the volume that would enter the country in a given year.

The idea of forging a MOA between Manila and Islamabad came up last year during initial talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries, Kazi added.

The country has imported almost 4.5 million metric tons of rice as of Dec. 12, according to the Bureau of Plant Industry.

Data showed that the top rice supplier was Vietnam at 3.43 million MT, followed by Thailand and Pakistan at 567,913 MT and 244,859 MT, respectively.