Before issuing import permits, the Department of Agriculture will now require a bond of 10 percent of the value of rice imports applied to ensure that traders fulfill applications.

During his confirmation hearing before the Commission on Appointments yesterday, new Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the agency is taking steps to ensure that permits issued for rice imports are utilized.

The move comes after the agency recently found that there were issued permits for rice imports of around one million metric tons or MT that were not utilized.

"We have now put in place new systems and conditions for import permits. Each importer must provide a bond. Before, you only needed P350 to get a permit, and if you did not bring in the rice supplies, nothing happened to you," Laurel said.

"Now, the bond will be equivalent to 10 percent of the value of the importation. The must-ship-out date has also been lowered to 30 days from 60 days," he said.

He added that those holding rice import permits but not immediately shipping supplies had been told to voluntarily surrender their documents.

However, the DA said it was still collating the total volume of rice imports according to the documents returned to the government by traders.

Laurel signed DA Memorandum Circular 53, series of 2023, on 4 December, putting into effect the reduced number of ship-out days for rice imports.

As of mid-November, the Bureau of Plant Industry's National Plant Quarantine Services Division reported that 2.94 million MT of imported rice had arrived in the country.

The majority of the volume, which was equivalent to 89 percent of the total shipments, came from Vietnam at 2.62 million MT.