The steep decline in palay prices, despite record-high production, has prompted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to consider suspending rice importation and raising import tariffs seriously, Agriculture secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said Tuesday.
Tiu Laurel explained that increasing the current 15 percent tariff could help rein in excessive imports while generating revenue to fund programs that improve farm productivity and competitiveness.
“This is a delicate balancing act between our duty to protect rice farmers from those who undervalue their produce and ensuring consumers have access to affordable rice,” he said.
Passed in 2018 to liberalize rice imports, the RTL allows the President to suspend importation under certain conditions.
A December 2024 amendment (Republic Act No. 12078) empowers the President to halt imports “when there is an excessive supply of imported or locally produced rice resulting in an extraordinary decrease in local prices.”
Tiu Laurel backs a phased tariff increase, first to 25 percent, then up to 35 percent, to avoid disrupting the supply chain or harming consumers. However, he emphasized that the final decision rests with President Marcos.
In July 2024, the President reduced rice tariffs to 15 percent to ease consumer prices amid a surge in global rice costs.
The move, along with the DA’s imposition of a maximum suggested retail price (SRP) for imported 5 percent broken rice starting January, brought down prices of imported rice from over P60 per kilo to around P43 today.
Globally, bumper harvests and the lifting of India’s export ban, coupled with the Philippines’ own record palay output of 9.08 million metric tons in the first half of 2025, have pushed prices downward.
Vietnamese rice, favored by the Philippine market, has dropped from over $700 to just $470 per metric ton, free on board, as of last week.
With cheaper imports flooding the market, some traders are now buying palay at just P8 to P10 per kilo, well below the average production cost of P12 to P14. Farmers blame the price slump on the influx of low-cost imported rice.
Currently, the landed cost of 5 percent broken imported rice averages P35 per kilo.
