PHILIPPINE rice imports totaled 2.57 million metric tons (MMT) as of Aug. 8, according to the Bureau of Plant Industry.
The bureau said inbound shipments for Aug. 1 to 8 reached 61,460 MT.
Vietnam accounted for 75.88% of all shipments to the Philippines, or 1.95 MMT, in the year to date.
Last week the US Department of Agriculture lowered the Philippines’ rice import forecast to 4.6 MMT this year due to weaker-than-expected purchases of rice from Vietnam.
“Importers are hesitating to raise orders because of the lawsuit against lower tariffs,” Roehlano M. Briones, a senior research fellow with the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said via Viber.
Executive Order No. 62 lowered the tariffs on imported rice to 15% from 35% until 2028, in a move designed to bring down rice prices.
Farmers’ groups have sought to stop the lowering of the rice tariff, citing the threat to domestic growers.
“The reduction of tariffs to 15% should lead to even more imports. And then there is the reduction of output in the first semester,” Federation of Free Farmers National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said via Viber.
In the first half, palay (unmilled rice) production dropped 5.5% to 8.53 MMT, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. This was the lowest first half production total since the 8.39 MMT posted in 2020.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr., said that the Department of Agriculture is projecting rice imports of 4 MMT in 2024.
The bureau added that Thailand supplied 360,444 MT during the period, or 14% of the total, followed by Pakistan with 154,523 MT, or 6.3%.
Rounding out the top five were Myanmar and India which shipped 66,640 MT and 21,676 MT of rice, respectively. — Adrian H. Halili
