Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. is optimistic about achieving bumper rice production in 2025, rebounding from last year’s slump and exceeding the previous record palay harvest of 20.46 million metric tons (MT) in 2023.
Tiu Laurel said the DA was motivated to aim for higher yield following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to restore the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) rice production budget. “We’re now hopeful we could do better than 2023,” he said.
Rice production faced setbacks in 2024 amid a prolonged dry spell from El Niño and flooding from La Niña, resulting in an estimated output of 19.3 million metric tons, below the 2023 levels.
To bolster rice security, the National Food Authority (NFA) will continue its aggressive procurement program, which helped fully stock warehouses last year.
Tiu Laurel, who is also the NFA chairman, reported that agency purchased 300,000 metric tons of palay in 2024, stabilizing supply despite production challenges.
This year, the agency aims to buy at least the same amount. Under the amended Rice Tariffication Law, the NFA’s buffer stock requirement increased from 9 days to 15 days of national consumption.
Meanwhile, a combination of reduced palay output, higher NFA procurement and lower rice tariffs drove rice imports to 4.75 million metric tons in 2024.
The government aims to boost local production, while continuing rice imports, to meet rising demand and stabilize the prices.
The DA prescribed a maximum suggested retail price of P58 per kilogram of imported rice to prevent profiteering among traders amid indications that the drastic drop in import tariff did not translate into equivalent reduction in retail prices of the main staple.