Rice imports accelerate in August

MANILA, Philippines — Rice imports are starting to pick up steam, with arrivals reaching almost half a million metric tons nearly two months after the government reduced tariffs to 15 percent.

Latest Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) data showed that some 463,754 MT of rice as of Aug. 29 has been imported under the lower tariff regime that began in July.

About 167,403.84 MT of rice arrived in the country in July, while 296,350.96 MT was imported last month, based on BPI data.

Economic managers are banking on the entry of imports slapped with a lower tariff rate to pull prevailing retail rice prices to below P50 per kilo.

The Philippine Statistics Authority earlier estimated that the tariff reduction would lead to a drop of P6 to P7 per kilo in retail rice prices.

Agriculture officials, including Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., have noted that the impact of the tariff cuts on the market would only be felt by October.

BPI data showed that total rice imports as of Aug. 29 reached 2.804 million MT, about 19 percent over the 2.353 million MT recorded volume in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the DA yesterday junked onion farmers’ calls to slash the volume of imported white onions by half, or 8,000 MT, after Tiu Laurel approved 16,000 MT of imported bulbs. – Bella Cariaso