Farmers prefer 35% rice tariff to flexible rate

FARMER GROUPS said the government’s plan to implement a flexible rice tariff next year is no substitute for restoring the tariff to its original 35%.

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“Dapat ibalik at ipirmi ang ang taripa sa imported na bigas sa 35% 0 mas mataas pa. Kung seryoso ang gobyerno sa food security, dapat suportahan ang lokal na produksyon at hindi ang mga importer (The tariff on imported rice should be fixed at 35% or higher. If the government is serious about food security, it should support local production, not importers.),” Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas Secretary-General Ronnie Manalo was quoted as saying in astatement.

The 35% tariff on rice imports was the rate originally set on Southeast Asian grain when the Rice Tariffication Law of 2019 came into force. It has since been reduced to 15% in June 2024 as an inflation-containment measure.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order (EO) No. 105 Friday, which modifies the rates of import duty on rice and establishes an Inter-Agency Group to oversee its implementation.