Dar said the 2.99 million MT imports reported by BoC reflects the total rice imports in the country for the year, even before the implementation of RTL.

As the country’s rice imports are expected to balloon to 3 million metric tons (MT) by year-end, Agriculture Secretary William Dar called rice industry stakeholders to uphold free and fair trade amidst negative perception on rice importation under the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL).

“It is true that under RTL, we encourage free trade primarily to lower the price of rice in the market. But let me also emphasize that we operate on the premise of fair trade, regardless of the volume that we are looking into. Our measures to ensure this has always been in place,” Dar said.

During the World Rice Trade Conference last week, Dar also clarifies the seemingly abnormal shoot up of rice imports in the country for 2019.

Reports from the Bureau of Customs (BoC) show that rice import volume since the implementation of the RTL reached just 1.87 million MT from March to October this year.

Meanwhile, the DA-Bureau of Plant Industry only accounted only for two million MT in the application for sanitary and phytosanitary Import Clearance (SPSIC) for imported rice. Dar said the 2.99 million MT imports reported by BoC reflects the total rice imports in the country for the year, even before the implementation of RTL.

“We need to keep rice production profitable and rice prices affordable to a growing consumer market. It is imperative to make our rice production systems more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable,” the cabinet official said.

During his recent visit to Brunei, Dar asked his counterparts, the Agri chiefs from other rice exporting countries, Vietnam and Thailand in particular, to hold the release of export permits to rice traders without the Philippines-issued SPSIC.

“With agreement from my counterparts in rice-exporting countries, we hope to arrest the influx of undocumented imported rice coming in the country. This is our move as we prepare our local rice industry to produce more with less cost,” Dar added.

The surge in imports has so far resulted in the sharp drop in the farmgate prices of palay (unhusked rice) from their peak of P23.14 per kilogram in September 2018 to only P15.50 per kilo last month.

As a result, income losses of farmers were estimated at P20,000 per hectare, or a total of P60 billion during the second semester harvest season alone.

However, Dar said that the implementation of the component programs under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund aimed at improving the competitiveness and income of rice farmers amidst rice trade liberalization is expected to help planters recover their losses.

The four programs on seeds, mechanization, credit and extension services are expected to increase farmers’ yield up to six tons per hectare and reduce their production cost down to P8 per kilo of palay.

Dar recently signed a memorandum of agreement imposing stricter guidelines in securing the needed permits and clearances before a trader is allowed to import rice as a measure against the spiking volume of imported rice coming into the country.