Quoting a report of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Ocampo said the country is the world’s fourth largest rice importer this year, next only to Indonesia, Nigeria and Iran.
"The trend has indeed reached an alarming rate for the Philippines, which is an agricultural country and where rice is the main staple food. Domestic rice production is collapsing under the weight of import liberalization and decades of government neglect," he said.
He warned the Arroyo administration that shrinking rice production could soon become a national security concern since it means that hundreds of thousands of Filipino rice farmers are being displaced.
"It seems everyone is alarmed, except the Arroyo government, which has made it a policy to leave the country’s food security at the mercy of foreign traders, rice smugglers and the local rice cartel," Ocampo said.
According to the USDA’s four-year importation report, the Philippines is importing a total of 1.2 million metric tons (24 million 50-kilo bags) of rice this year.
Last year, the country was the third biggest importer with 1.18 million tons, next to Indonesia and Nigeria. It was in the same slot in 1999 with one million tons, and slipped to fourth in 2000 when it imported 900,000 tons. – Jess Diaz