Temporary freeze on rice import urged

As local farmers continued to reel from the impact of rice importation to their livelihoods, Sen. Imee Marcos appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte Thursday for its temporary stoppage after unscrupulous rice traders were found to be hoarding the cereal in their warehouses.

Marcos’ appeal came following the discovery during the budget hearing of the Department of Agriculture (DA) that mountains of sacks of imported rice from neighboring Asian countries are stocked in the warehouses of rice traders.

Marcos said that the incomes of local rice farmers went down because of the flooding of rice imports after the implementation of the rice tariffication law. She said that rice importation should be temporarily frozen until December of this year.

DA data shows that the country’s top rice suppliers are Thailand, Vietnam, India and Pakistan.

“I am appealing to President Duterte for the temporary stoppage of rice importation,” Marcos said. She reiterated her earlier stand of raising the tax on rice imports until 800 percent for the protection of local rice farmers.