Rice imports at 3.68 MMT year to date

PHILIPPINE rice imports totaled 3.68 million metric tons (MMT) as of late October, according to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).

The BPI reported that in October, rice shipments totaled 380,541.58 MT as of Oct. 24, up from 163,217.40 MT a year earlier.

In June, the government lowered the tariffs on imported rice to 15% from 35% until 2028 through Executive Order No. 62 as an inflation-containment measure.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. has said that the Department of Agriculture (DA) will meet with operators of large markets in Metro Manila next week to determine why rice prices remain elevated despite a drop in wholesale rice prices to P38 per kilogram.

He added that if wholesale rice prices were at P38 per kilo, the retail price of rice should be around P45 per kilo.

According to DA price monitors, as of Oct. 29, the retail price of imported regular-milled rice was between P45 to P48 per kilo, while well-milled rice was P45 to P55 per kilo.

The BPI reported that Vietnam remained the top supplier of rice as of late October, accounting for 79% of all imports in the year to date, or 2.91 MMT.

Thailand supplied 457,673.28 MT during the period, or 12.4% of the total, followed by Pakistan with 162,369.48 MT, or 4.5%.

It added that Myanmar and India shipped 114,766.75 MT and 22,039.04 MT of rice, respectively.

For October, the BPI issued 741 sanitary and phytosanitary import certificates with approved applicants seeking to import 597,306 MT. 

As of late October, permits issued numbered 8,397 with applicants seeking to ship in 8.21 MMT.

The US Department of Agriculture projects Philippine rice imports to hit 4.7 MMT this year, upgrading its initial 4.6 MMT estimate. — Adrian H. Halili