60-day pause of rice imports

Earlier this week, President Marcos “ordered a 60-day suspension of all rice importation starting September 1 to shield local farmers from falling palay prices during the ongoing harvest season.” Forthwith, apprehensions of possible hike in inflation rose. Sec. Balisacan of the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev), however, allayed these fears citing “sufficient domestic supply, declining global prices and a strong harvest outlook.”

- Fidel O. Abalos

This is a positive development. To recall, over a year ago, to augment rice supply and prevent prices from skyrocketing, DepDev (then, NEDA) approved the comprehensive tariff program for 2024 to 2028. It included, among others, a reduction of rice import duty from 35 percent to 15 percent. Obviously, this directive alone, not only stabilized the supply of rice but significantly lower inflation.

Moreover, this move reinforced Administrative Order 20 which directed the Department of Agriculture (DA) “to remove non-tariff barriers to bring down rising domestic prices of agricultural products.” For clarity, non-tariff barriers include, among others, quotas, embargoes, sanctions and levies. The reason could be political or economic. A sanction or trade embargo is a political strategy. On the other hand, if a country imposes quotas or levies on imports of products or produce to protect their own manufacturers or producers, that is an economic strategy.