PAKISTAN is seeking to increase its exports of rice to the Philippines if the latter commits to take up a guaranteed volume, its ambassador to Manila said.
“We are the third-largest exporter of rice to Philippines next to Vietnam and Thailand…Our own share is less than 6%. We want to increase that share,” Ambassador Imtiaz Ahmad Kazi told reporters on the sidelines of a rice conference.
According to the Bureau of Plant Industry, Pakistan supplied 178,179 metric tons (MT) of rice to the Philippines as of Nov. 7. This is around 5.2% of the 3.9 million MT (MMT) in imports to date.
“That depends on a number of conditions… the Philippines should guarantee us that they want (a specific volume) of rice every year,” he said.
Mr. Kazi said the government of Pakistan has proposed a memorandum of understanding stipulating the volume of rice the Philippines proposes to buy.
“Our exporters are ready to convert their fields into rice fields… Based on your demand… We are ready to do it,” he added.
He said that the Philippines needs to impose a stable tariff regime on imported rice, noting that duties “have been fluctuating.”
“We don’t know what is going to come next because globally, prices are going to be competitive again, so our rice exporters want to have stability and certainty about the quantity,” he added.
In June, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed Executive Order (EO) No. 62 which lowered the tariff on imported rice to 15% from 35%, until 2028. EO 62 was meant to tame rice prices and plug gaps in domestic rice production.
Mr. Kazi said Pakistan exports about two-thirds of its 11 MMT rice surplus.
“We are increasing our productivity, and we are exporting most of it, two-thirds of it… We have other markets also, but Philippines is one of the important ones,” he added.
The Philippines is projected to remain the top rice importer in the world, according to the US Department of Agriculture. It is expected to import about 5.1 MMT of rice next year. — Adrian H. Halili
