DA proposes longer rice import ban

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is proposing the extension of the two-month suspension on rice imports imposed earlier this month by up to 30 days, buoyed by improvements in the domestic prices of palay or unmilled rice.

- BY DEXTER BARRO II

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said he is inclined to recommend to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. an extension of the current import ban, pending data validation.

Marcos ordered the suspension of foreign rice purchases for 60 days in order to stabilize local prices, beginning Sept. 1.

The suspension, which covers the months of September and October, was implemented to protect local farmers from the influx of cheaper imported rice.

The two-month period coincides with the peak of the country’s wet cropping season.

The steady arrival of imported rice in local markets was earlier cited by the DA as one of the factors contributing to the sharp decline in farmgate prices, along with bumper harvests across exporting countries and the lifting of India’s rice export ban.