BBM approves rice tariff cut to 15% until 2028

To bring down the price of rice to P29 per kilo, President Marcos has lowered the tariff for imported rice until 2028, according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

- HELEN FLORES

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, chaired by the President, approved the new Comprehensive Tariff Program for 20242028, which includes the reduction of rice tariff for both in- and out-quota rates from 35 to 15 percent.

At a Palace briefing yesterday, Balisacan said the newly approved tariff rates aim to ensure access and affordability to essential commodities while at the same time balancing the interest of consumers and local producers.

“The Department of Agriculture is aiming for a reduction (to) P29 per kilo, at least for the poor, because we will complement this tariff reduction with direct subsidies to the poor and the vulnerable, so they can access the food (rice),” Balisacan said.

“But overall, with the tariff reduced from 35 to 15 percent, everybody will benefit from that. This is crucial because world prices are still increasing,” he added.

Balisacan clarified that the lower rice tariff was aimed at bringing down the price of rice to P29 a kilo only for poor households, including beneficiaries of the government’s conditional cash transfer program or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

“Let me clarify, the P29 is the target cost of rice for the poor, those who are targeted for the 4Ps. So, it’s not a general price,” he said.