Filipino farmers expressed concern over the potential impact of India lifting its ban on rice exports, fearing it could lead to higher retail prices for imported rice in the Philippines.
The Federation of Filipino Farmers (FFF) said that while India’s selling price was about 10 percent lower than that of Vietnam and Thailand, there’s no guarantee the pricing would remain stable.
“It is only a minimum, so actual selling prices could be higher,” said FFF national manager Raul Montemayor.
He said that historically, Filipino importers were hesitant to purchase Indian rice despite its competitive pricing.
Factors like quality concerns and reliability issues led them to favor rice from other countries like Pakistan.
The FFF said the lifting of India’s export ban could trigger a chain reaction in the global rice market. The increased supply might lead to a softening of international rice prices.
The decision comes with a minimum export price set at $490 per ton, or roughly 10 percent lower than comparable prices from Thailand and Vietnam.
India is expected to resume supplying African and Middle Eastern countries, potentially decreasing demand for rice from Asian exporters like Thailand and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the decrease in demand may force exporters to lower their prices to remain competitive, ultimately benefiting Filipino importers with lower overall import prices, the FFF said.
