The Agriculture Department cited the need to extend the quantitative restriction on rice for two more years to make Filipino farmers more competitive.
“While certain quarters have called for the tariffication of the QR, the Department of Agriculture is of the position that it should be extended for at least another two years to allow this administration’s support programs to firmly take root and set the sector on the proper path of sustained self-sufficiency at competitive levels,” said Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol.
The Philippines acquired the right to impose quantitative restriction on rice as a result of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations that led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization in 1995.
Under the Agreement on Agriculture’s Special Treatment for Rice under Annex 5, QR allows the Philippines to regulate and restrict rice imports entering the country beyond the minimum access volume.
MAV refers to the minimum volume of farm produce allowed to enter the country.
